


Demon’s Reach

by LordKraus



Series: Wilde Files [1]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, F/M, Mythology - Freeform, Nick Wilde is a Wizard, POV First Person, Puns & Word Play, Snark, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2020-07-29 21:36:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 50,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20089141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordKraus/pseuds/LordKraus
Summary: Nick Wilde, professional Wizard, is dragged kicking and screaming into a dark conspiracy of demons fairies and things best long forgotten. Will he and the characters around him survive. Told entirely from his point of view join him on one wild adventure.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all this is all Pandora's fault. Thank you.
> 
> Those of you following me from my first series Savage Days, Thank You! You giving me your valuable time in the hopes that I entertain you means much to me. 
> 
> With that being said this story may not be for everyone and thats ok. Savage Days will come back. But this is me learning growing creating as an author. I’m pouring my blood sweat and tears into this and trust me when I say its being one hell of a ride. 
> 
> This is a mashup of Dresden Files / Iron Druid and a few other concepts and ideas that I have had along the way. Its the product of a conversation with a friend that encouraged this way more than originally expected and it took off. Its fun its been my solace, my fortress of solitude that has kept me from fully going crazy while wrapping up Season 2 of Savage Days. 
> 
> As always I would like to also thank my wife who is one of if not my biggest supporter. 
> 
> Please by all means enjoy and buckle up.

# Prologue

My name is Nicholas Piberius Copperfield Wilde and I am a professional wizard. The only practicing professional wizard in all of Zootopia. It says so right on my business card. You can find me in the yellow pages under “Wizard”. You’ll have to look pretty hard, as I’m the only service listed, but you'll find it between “Wildlife Rescue” and “Women’s Shelter”. Do mammals even use the yellow pages these days? I suppose not, with the advent of smartphones and the internet. Not that I can use those things, but maybe I can save myself some cash by not having an ad in there anymore? I just have to look at one of those infernal devices and it damn near explodes; smartphones that is.

Why’s that you ask? It's a good question. You see, magic and technology don't mix very well. Hell, I can blow out all of the streetlights within a 500 foot radius with a fairly simple spell. Not that I would do that of course, or have….. Err, recently. But magic and technology made after about 1980 just don’t mix overly well. Trust me, it sucks. It means I can’t have very nice things. Not that being a professional wizard pays well enough to have nice things to begin with.

Take my apartment for example. It's in the basement of this lovely place called the Grand Pangolin Arms. Trust me, there is nothing grand about it; if I say so myself, it's a fucking dump. It’s cold and drafty, but it’s mine. My bed? If only I could have such a nicety as a true bed! Nope, only a drawer in what had to have been an elephant dresser is all I get. The heater only works maybe every other year, I haven't had a hot shower since….. Know what, I really don't remember the last time I had a hot shower. Maybe seven years ago, or was it eight, when I had that gym membership? Anyway, the only truly nice thing about the place is I get the sub basement as well, since the only entrance is through my apartment. It was used as a bomb shelter during the second world war. But now it's my lab. What, don’t believe me? What self respecting wizard doesn't have a lab? Right, right I'm the only one. Then I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that no self respecting wizard wouldn't have a lab.

Why tell you where I live? It doesn't matter, you'll never find my door; only those in true need find my door, or I guess they can call my office and schedule an appointment. What? I'm a wizard, a professional. I even have office hours: Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm, closed 12 to 1 for lunch. Yeah, yeah laugh it up; but don't come crying to me if some random spook starts haunting your pipes, or you get an infestation of fairies. By the way, never feed a fairy, no matter how cute they look. You’ll make it four times as hard to convince them to leave, which will then cause my rates go up along with the chance of property damage that you WILL sign a waiver for, and I’ll demand at least a grand up front to even start.

Anyway… How did I start, you ask? Well you see, when a mommy witch and a daddy warlock love each other very much….. Oh, you want to know that….. Well you see I don't like or trust you enough to share that story with you at the moment; trust me, that is a tragic story worthy of the Greeks.

Oh, you want to know THAT…. I don’t know, Carrots and I could both get in a lot of trouble. One hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, five hundred, ok, ok, ok…… At least now I can make rent on my office, and I don't think Carrots will begrudge me that. Not after the mess she dragged me into. Unknowingly of course, but still a mess.

You see, I wish I could say it all starts on a dark and stormy night. But it doesn’t. It was neither dark nor stormy; it was more like an annoyingly bright mid May day……… 


	2. Chapter 1:

# Chapter 1:

I walk down the street, using one of several routes that I take everyday to get from my humble hole in the ground to my office a few blocks away from the busy bustle of downtown. While I own an aging car, it pays for me not to put too much stress on it; the repair rates of my mechanic are expensive and I am already behind on rent for my office. Anyway, while changing my route every day may seem a bit paranoid at first, remember that just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to bite your face off.

Speaking of demons, there’s my personal one fast approaching. There she is, the reason I'm behind on my rent. She’s ZPD’s newest member: a 20 pound ball of fluff and energy, bound and determined to make the world a better place. One fucking parking ticket at a time. How do I know this? She ticketed me last week for being 30 seconds late pulling out of a parking space as the meter dinged. It dinged as I was waiting for traffic to clear for me to get my aging car out of the space, and she slapped with me a fine. I was in the fluffing car! But did she understand or cut me a break? Nope, but oh was she quick to reach for her Fox Away pepper spray.

She’s young, and the aurora she gives off is one of innocence and inquisitiveness. It’s part of the reason interactions with her grate so much. Her naivety is one of the big reasons I'm pretty sure that she will end up being eaten by a vampire or something worse. I just pray to Karma I'm not around when it happens. Then again, there is a strong possibility that I will be.

“Hey fox!” I hear her shout at me in what was likely her most authoritative voice. I’ll be honest here, I'm not sure she could do intimidating if she tried. Maybe that's why her boss has had her on meter maid duty for the last several months? 

“What do you want, Carrots?” I ask her, not even bothering to stop. It's not like walking down the street is a crime or anything and besides, I have important places to go, like work.

“Don’t call me Carrots,” she said, her voice going to what I can only assume is her most threatening tone. My ears perk up a bit at the sound of her rushing to catch up with me.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I only assumed you came from some carrot choked podunk.” I narrow my eyes as we pass by the three wheel jokemobile that the ZPD had supplied her with and draw subtly on the magic that flows around us. The subtle change in the flashing lights and the ominous groan that the parking brake makes as we walk past causes me to chuckle.

Oh, magic? I guess the best way to explain it is it's like the force. It flows from every living thing, like an energy field that blankets the planet. But there is no light side nor dark side to it. It just is. Learning to tap into it is dangerous; many budding wizards, sorcerers, warlocks, and witches tend to kill themselves once they do figure it out. Mix unlimited power together with limited discipline and pop goes the weasel. Most of the time it's not that dramatic, but there have been a few instances……

“No, Podunk is in Deerbrook county and I’m from Bunnyburrow,” she explains to me condescendingly. This only causes me to roll my eyes and sigh.

“Right, right, can you get to your point Officer Fluff?” I ask as we cross the next street and a horn starts honking behind us.

“Look, I know you’re up to something….” she starts. I just roll my eyes, push my paws deeper into my pockets, and keep going about my own business.

“The only thing I'm guilty of is walking to my office,” I say to her. “As far as I know, that's not a crime.”

I catch a glimpse of the parking brake failing on the jokemobile and it starts to roll down the hill. I’m sure the smile on my face doesn’t help with my innocent act, but at least she’s about to be out of my fur for a bit.

“Look here, fox!” she exclaims at me, pointing her finger up at me. I will admit, between the bright orange reflective safety vest, bowler hat, and the hard set of her eyes, she almost appears cute. Almost.

“I’m going to have to stop you right there, Carrots. You have a bigger problem this morning than a shifty fox walking down the street,” I say, smiling.

“Like what?” she asks me. “I'll have you know that threatening an officer….” She stops mid sentence as I point to her clown car rolling down the hill past us. I’m pretty sure she doesn't see the look of satisfaction on my face as her eyes go wide watching it bouncing off a parked car to continue its way down hill. “Sweet cheese and crackers!” she exclaims as she takes off after it.

I just shake my head; even her cursing turns out to be cute. I’ll admit I somewhat enjoy watching her chase after it for a moment before I continue my way to my office. But if I had only known that overzealous rabbit officers would be the least of my concern that day, I might have taken a moment to stop and appreciate the view a moment longer.

Maybe half an hour later I was standing outside my office door. It read:

Nick Wilde – Wizard

Lost Items Found – Paranormal Investigations – Consulting – Advice – Reasonable Rates

No Love Potions – No Bags of Holding – No Parties or Other Entertainment

Office Hours Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm Closed 12 to 1 for lunch

My ad in the yellow pages pretty much says the same thing, but also includes the office phone number. Unlocking the door and stepping inside was a lot like stepping into the office of an old-fashioned private eye’s office. The outer office has a desk for an assistant but I had to let them go, considering I’m now on year four of lean times. There’s seating for most medium sized mammals, as the building just isn’t set up to handle mega fauna, which is fine; that's what the Snarlbucks down on the corner is for. There are pamphlets here and there about the dangers of feeding fairies and how garlic only gives vampires bad breath.

You’d be surprised how much mammals believe pop culture when it comes to the occult or things that go bump in the night. In a lot of ways, it has made my job about 400 times harder than it really needs to be. But I digress.

Somehow I doubt you’d be surprised to learn that most of my day is spent waiting. I spend most of that time reading old science fiction and fantasy novels. I get them by the box full from the old used bookstore down the street. The few times my phone ever rings, it’s mammals asking if my ad is serious. Other times it’s telemarketers thinking I would be an easy score. But every so often, maybe one out of every 200 calls or so, there is something, and out of those maybe one in 20 is something that will end up giving me a paycheck.

With the turn of the century, most mammals almost religiously believe in science, and who could blame them? Smartphone, smart TVs , the internet of things, the twice be damned weather walls; hell you almost can’t spit these days without hitting some smart device in some poor kit’s paws. But for all our technological breakthroughs, we still have poverty and hunger. War, death, and famine run rampant and the gap between the haves and the have nots widen with every passing day, and for most mammals? Ignorance is fucking bliss, and I envy them.

If they’d seen the things I’ve seen, knew the things that I know, done the things that I’ve had to do… Maybe it’s a good thing that most mammals can’t see beyond the thin veil of civilization, that they were unaware of the very real and continuing presence of the things that went bump in the night.. They just got smarter, or maybe we got dumber; again I digress.

For the most part my day passes quietly, with my mind occupied by the words on the page and my imagination in galaxies far far away. That is until this day, when my door crashes into my office wall.

My book falls to my desk like a stricken bird fluttering to the ground. All of the light bulbs in my office wink out at once as I draw on my innate ability, using my very will to pull forth the power to blast whatever just disturbed my quiet afternoon.

Just as quickly the door slammed back shut. A clearly terrified otter stood there, her back braced against the office door as if all the hounds of hell had been chasing her. Her chest rose and fell with her panicked breath. But other than clearly being scared near to death of something, she clearly wasn't a threat.

My guard didn’t drop as I eyed the door; I half expected some tentacled monster hell bent on eating the otter to come crashing through it after her.

“Nick Wilde?” I hear her ask.

“Yes, that’s me,” I confirm, not turning my gaze from the door.

“I...I need your help.”

Call me what you will, either old fashioned or a chauvinist fox. I am what I am, but when a lady slams into your door and asks for your help you pay attention.

“I’m being hunted.”

Hunted; that word alone has special meaning. Not stalked, not perved on, but hunted. We civilized mammals don't hunt any more. We don't hunt other mammals for food, we don't hunt other mammals for sport; it's not what we do. We haven't done this since well before any of us on this planet were born. Some, ok a lot if I'm being honest, still hold deep rooted grudges for what our ancestors did, and in some cases rightfully so, but all in all we don't hunt each other any more.

I let the power flow back out into the world; it wouldn't have done me much good without my blasting rod anyway. Oh trust me, my control of fire is such I could have torched the little female otter to a tender crisp, but doing so would have also set the wall alight, and more than likely the office across the hall from mine. But that's not a skill I like to advertise; it doesn't pay the bills, at least not in a way that would allow me to sleep at night. Or keep me off of the White Council’s radar.

“Miss,” I say as calmly as I possibly can. “Why don't you have a seat? Whatever’s after you isn't going to come crashing through my door right this moment, I'm sure.”

Her gaze slowly went from me to the door. I watch as she pushes her wire rim glasses up her muzzle and nods, giving me a weak smile. “Sorry, I’ve just been on edge,” she starts.

“It’s fine, Miss…?” I leave the question hanging in the air for her to fill.

“Otterton,” she says nervously. I won't lie, my curiosity as well as my sudden hope for a paycheck, which was more meaningful, was peaked. The Ottertons ran a line of flower shops all across the city. There were several dozen in each of the city’s main districts; they had corporate offices in one of the tallest buildings in the city, and here was one of the family in my office.

“Miss Otterton, please have a seat,” I said, directing her to the chair across from my desk. “Can I interest you in a cup of coffee, or perhaps a bottle of water?”

I’ll be honest when I say she wasn't quite what I expected of someone who’s family ran a multi million dollar corporation. Her clothes spoke more of picking up her kids from school and taking them to soccer practice than the extravagant life one would assume she would be used to living. She wore a light purple sweater jacket over a pink shirt and blue jeans. Comfortable, worn, everyday wear; honestly you would pass her over before you began to think she had any real capital.

“Water please?” she asks as she sits down in the chair across from my desk. The chair was a little big for her, but still comfortable nonetheless. I nod as I walk across the office and pick up a bottle of water and bring it back to her. It’s a little on the warm side. I once had one of those mini fridge things, but it only lasted a week before the magic blue smoke that made it work puffed out as I read the through an old Jim Butcher novel.

I gently place the bottle of water into her paws and sit down at my desk. “Tell me about your stalker, Mrs. Otterton.”

“Hunter, Mr. Wilde,” Mrs. Otterton says crisply. “I have been around long enough to know the difference between the two.”

“Ok Mrs. Otterton, why come to me if your being hunted? Surely the police…” I start.

“The police don't care, Mr. Wilde. My husband has been missing for over three weeks and they won’t even assign a rabbit cop to look into it. Instead all I get are platitudes about ‘we’re looking into it’ and ‘these things take time,’” Mrs. Otterton says. I raise an eyebrow. Surely the Chief of Police would spare the bunny cop from meter maid duty to look into a missing otter?

I look her over, once again refusing to fully met her eyes. Meeting the eyes of a wizard is not what one would call conducive to one's mental health. Mammals say the eyes are the gateways to one’s soul. There is more truth in that than most mammals realize these days; when you meet the eyes of one with a gift in the arcane arts, you literally gaze onto their soul. You see it all, good and bad; you see the things that made the mammal you share the gaze with and it sticks with you forever. You’ll never forget it, you’ll always remember perfectly whatever it was you saw. The last mammal that locked eyes with me fled the continent. What she saw in my soul I have no clue, but the last time I’d heard anything about her she’d joined a convent in Eweupe.

“Mrs Otterton, why don't you start from the beginning?” I ask her.

She sighs; the weary look in her eyes and the slouch of her shoulders speaks of a deep seated worry and fear. She looks at the book on my desktop before glancing out the window of my seventh floor office. It has a wonderful view of the building across the street.

“It started just over a month ago I guess,” she starts as she looks back toward me. “Emmitt and I typically handle special orders for some of our oldest or most important customers personally. We had been contacted to do the flower arrangements for Fru Fru Big’s wedding.”

Red flags immediately go up in my head. Fru Fru Big is the only surviving child of Gentleman Antony Big, the city’s most notoriously ruthless crime boss. If the Ottertons are involved with him I’m not so certain that I want to be involved at all.

“The wedding went off without a hitch. Fru Fru married her husband, a lawyer from Little Rodentia. But there was a…presence at the wedding,” she explains.

“Presence?” I ask.

“Yes, a presence.” she sighs and looks up at me. “Honestly Mr. Wilde, you’ll probably think I’m crazy.” I raise an eyebrow at that. “Right,” she continues on. “You’re a wizard; I imagine crazy is your bread and butter.”

“Something like that; please go on.” She looks thoughtful for many moments. I decide that patience is necessary as she searches for a way to explain to me something that she can’t explain to herself .

“We felt something looking at us…” She pauses and looks back out the window to the building across the street. “Well, I imagine it’s the way Emmitt and I look at a nice salmon steak.”

“When did the wedding take place?” I ask her.

“Ummm, I believe on the evening of the 24th. I could look it up,” she says to me as she reaches into her purse to pull what I figure to be some electronic device out of it.

“No no, that's ok,” I say, not wanting to be responsible for blowing up one of those infernal things. Much to my surprise, she pulls out an old fashioned day planner. She probably hears my sigh of relief, as the last thing I want to be responsible for is exploding a smartphone like a paw grenade in the paw of my potential client. The potential client, I might add, that has close ties to the mob. That just wouldn’t be good for business or my health.

I watch in fascination as she flips through the pages of her day planner, her gold rimmed glasses catching the sunlight as it comes through the window. “Yes, it was the 24th,” she confirms. “A week later Emmitt went missing. The first day I thought maybe he had just gotten caught up in his work and thought nothing of it, as it’s happened in the past. The next day I went to his workshop to, well, find he wasn’t there.”

“Was there anything out of place?” I ask, my curiosity overruling the gut feeling to escort the otter out of my office. I mean, I needed the money, but if Mr. Big was involved, I'm more certain than ever that I don’t want to be.

“No, the police…” She sighs and looks up at me; her sea green eyes speak more of her pain than anything else. “The police told me that he more than likely ran off with his secretary. But Mr. Wilde that's just not true; our oldest daughter Hanna has been Emmitt’s assistant for years and she’s at work. Not that he’d ever do something like that anyway.”

“Is there a place that Emmitt would go if he was stressed or just needed a break?” I ask her.

“We own a home in the Canal District and we have a good working relationship with one of the farms out in the Burrows,” she tells me as I make notes.

“I will need the address for the home, and which farm?” I ask as I jot down more notes. I honestly can’t believe I'm going to take this case. But she could afford it, and at least I’ll be able to make rent and maybe eat something other than ramen for a bit.

“The Hopps Family Farm.” I look up, surprised; it couldn’t be the same Hopps, could it? No, no it can't be. Damn it Karma! If Mrs. Otterton sees my surprise she doesn’t respond to it. “They normally grow fruits and vegetables, but they also grow a lot of our stock of easily mass grown flowers.”

“Alright then, I’ll also need a phone number for them.”

“Does this mean you’ll take the case?” she asks me,. hope shining clearly in her voice.

“Depends Mrs. Otterton,” I say as frankly as I can.

“On what?”

“My pay.” Suddenly I feel less like a wizard and more like a mercenary. But I haven't been around long enough to accumulate a vast sum of money like many of the older wizards, and I still have needs.

“I see, Mr. Wilde; thankfully I do have the means to pay you.”

I stare at her for more than a few moments. “One thousand retainer, $75 an hour, plus travel expenses; and to be clear, are you hiring me to deal with your hunter or find your husband?”

She stares at me. Not in the eyes but almost through me, as if she’s weighing my worth. “Why not both?” she asks after a moment, seeming satisfied with whatever conclusions she’d drawn. “If you are truly what you say you are and not some snake oil sales mammal preying on the gullible, then it should be no issue to you.”

“Fine, both then,” I answer, suddenly not feeling so badly about padding my retainer and hourly rate a bit. I watch as she reaches into her purse and pulls out a rather fat envelope and tosses it onto my desk in front of me.

“Fifteen hundred,” she says flatly, her eyes hardening for just a moment. “And I expect results Mr. Wilde.” I stare at her as her eyes soften. “Please find my husband; find Emmitt.” I watch as she slides out of her chair, and taking my notepad and pen to write down an address in the Canal District and another one in Bunnyburrow.

“I will, Mrs. Otterton.” I look down at the address as my heart drops. Hopps Family Farm, Bunnyburrow. _ Podunk is in Deerbrook county _ _ and _ _ I’m from Bunnyburrow, _I hear Officer Hop-a-long’s voice saying in my head. 

“I believe, Mr. Wilde, that is everything you require,” she tells me flatly.

I take the envelope with the cash and tuck it away into my desk drawer, making sure to lock it before I stand up. “I take it you have a car here?” I ask.

“Why yes Mr. Wilde, I have a car and driver waiting for me downstairs.”

“Then please allow me to escort you to your car.” I walk with her to the elevator, which, miracle beyond miracle, doesn’t malfunction on the trip down. We approach a newer sedan with a jaguar leaning against its side with his arms crossed. He opens the door for her as we near. Thankfully the car is off, so it’s not in danger of falling victim to my magic. The last thing I want to do is break my new employer’s fancy automobile. 

“One last thing Mrs. Otterton,” I say as she slides into the rear passenger seat. “You wouldn't have something of your husband’s? Something personal of his, maybe some fur from a brush or anything?”

She once again studies me, and I will freely admit I find it mildly unnerving. “Yes, at home, The Grand Pawvilian Tower; you know of it?”

“I do.”

“Have the front desk ring me and I will ensure you get what you require. Now, if that is all,good day Mr. Wilde.”

“Good day,” I say to her and step away from the car to what I hope is a safe distance. It must be, as I watch the jaguar climb into the driver's seat and drive away.

“Ahem.” I hear an all too familiar voice clearing her throat at me and I slowly turn my head to the right, looking down. There she is, my own personal demon made flesh and fur. Her arms are crossed as her right foot thumps repeatedly on the sidewalk. “So you took her money then?” she asks me accusingly.

“Did I?” I ask rhetorically.. “Why yes, yes I did,” I answer as I start to turn and head back into the building. _I can pay up my rent for what I owe this month and maybe even next month; that will put that old cougar off my tail for a little while at least,_ I think to myself, dismissing the rabbit from further thought.

“Why?” she asks.

“Carrots, it’s bad for business if I go around telling mammals what other mammals hire me for,” I say as we walk through the front door of the office building.

“You shouldn’t have; she’s a family friend and needs help, not someone to take advantage of her,” she says as she follows me up the stairs. I’d taken one roll of the dice today getting in that elevator; I really don't want to take a second one. Besides, the emotional turmoil of being called a crook at worst or a fraud at best pretty much ensured that the elevator would malfunction.

“And what?” I ask tersely. “Lose my business? Not eat? Get thrown out of my apartment and live in a box under a bridge?” 

“Well, no, but…” I can see her in my mind’s eye even though she’s three steps behind me. I can feel that her ears are down her back and she’s rubbing her paws together. Honestly, this has been the longest and most cordial conversation between the pair of us.

“But what?” I stop at the landing to the floor of my office and push open the door. She walks through it and looks up at me.

“It's just that the Ottertons have been my family’s closest friends and business partners for years.” She sighs. “I don't want them to be taken advantage of with no results.”

I eye her before continuing onto my office. “Good for you and good for them. But helping her for free doesn't put food on my table or pay the rent that I’m late on because you wouldn’t cut me some slack when pulling out of that parking spot.”

I walk into my office, leaving the door open, and am somewhat surprised when she follows me inside and quietly pushes the door shut behind her. I sit down at my desk and look her over. Her uniform isn’t what I’d call standard issue for the ZPD. Unless tactical meter maid has become the new norm. The most telling to me has to be the lack of any real side arm, which tells me they either don’t have one for her or don’t trust her with one.

She looks around the dimly lit office as she walks over to my desk. “I’m sorry,” she says softly as she looks up at me then glances away. “It was my first day and Chief Bogo assigned me parking detail; I thought if I got 200 tickets issued before noon he’d take me seriously.”

“Did he?” I ask, though I can pretty much guess the answer.

She huffed. “No.”

“So why are you here Carrots?”

She looks up at me, her nose twitching a few times. “Can you help her?”

“I don't know. All I can do is try,” I answered as honestly as I could.

“I want to help. The Ottertons are friends; Emmitt is my godfather. I need to help,” she said.

I study her for a moment, maybe a moment longer than was necessary. Karma kept throwing this rabbit in my path. Why? I don’t know; she radiates strength, but not the kind that can wield magic. More of a strength of character, principal maybe.

“Helping me isn’t going to garner you any good will with Chief Buffalo Butt,” I say, trying to give her a way out.

“I don’t care; Emmitt is practically family. I’ll take time off if I need to.”

I nod and sigh. I’m really going to have to have a talk with Karma next time we have a beer. “Fine. You might want to arrange for time off, but that’s your concern. Meet me here tomorrow at 9 a.m..”

“Really?” she asks, as if I might change my mind.

“Yeah, really.” _I’m probably__ going to regret this,_ I think to myself. “You should get going,” I tell her as I pull out the envelope full of cash from my desk drawer and start separating it into piles.

“What are you going to do?” I hear her ask from the door.

“The glamorous task of getting my bills caught up.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walk into Finnick's a few hours later. My pay from Mrs. Otterton is already lighter than I would like, and my mind heavier than it needs to be. But I’m looking forward to a hot meal, something that didn’t come out of a plastic packaging or a tin can for once. There’s only so long a mammal can live off of prepackaged food before they start to go crazy.

Finnick's is one of those rare places in the city where I can go and sit down to a nice hot meal. Where the TV's don’t explode, because there are none. Where the wait staff don't get snotty with you, because there are none. Where the beer is good, the food is good, and for the most part I’m left the hell alone. Mostly because the place is the only truly neutral ground in the city for the supernatural. The place is warded to hell and back. You try to kill in there, it's reflected tenfold. Magic, gun, fist fight, whatever, it doesn’t matter to Finnick’s wards; they are some of the strongest in the city, if not the world. Finnick himself is old; he’s run the joint since before I was born and probably will keep on running it long after I pass. How old the fennec fox truly is no one knows. He serves all kinds: predators and prey, mortal and fey; he doesn’t really care as long as your money is green.

While Finnick serves all kinds, nothing here is more welcome to me than one of his nice hot steak sandwiches. What? The meat is lab grown, has been for over two decades! At first it was expensive as all hell and was one of those things that you only got at one of those suit and tie establishments. The price of a meal there was easily about the same as my rent, but the more mammals invested into it the more affordable it became. It has been a huge quality of life improvement for predators around the world; hell, even most prey don't bat an eye at it these days. But see, most of those places cook it wrong or don't prepare it right. Finnick though? I suspect he's been around long enough to remember when we weren't so nice to each other.

The establishment is laid out fairly simply: a long bar along the far wall with 13 stools, 13 columns breaking up the open space, and 13 tables interspersed around the room. The columns are all carved with intricate designs that, while memorable, you tend to forget the design of as soon as you leave the place. Behind the bar is an old fashioned wood fired grill that Finnick makes all the food on. 

“Wilde,” Finnick greets me gruffly as I walk up to the bar and sit on one of the stools.

“Finnick. I’ll have a steak sandwich and two house brews please.” Finnick's house brews are almost as legendary as his steak sandwiches. He brews the ale himself and any attempts to replicate it fail miserably.

Finnick reaches under the bar and grabs a brown bottle of ale and pops the top of it off with his thumb before sitting it in front of me. I take a sip of it and close my eyes. I can’t even begin to describe the layers of flavors in that ale; it’s an old world recipe, that much I know. Soon my senses are overcome with the delightful aroma of grilling meat, which instantly makes my mouth water.

I open my eyes and take another sip of the ale as I watch the fennec fox work. I have many questions left from my day and few answers. Most of my questions revolve around the bunny cop and why she keeps being thrust into my life. The signs are all there plain as day; Karma has been putting her in my path for a reason.

Speaking of which, she is heralded by the sweet smell of cherries, always cherries. I hope I can get the answers that I seek. She had been popping in and out of life since I was 12 years old; she’d first appeared to me after the death of my father. Oddly enough, at that time she gave me comfort until my maternal grandfather showed up to take custody of me and ever since she periodically checks up on me.

“Nicholas,” she greets me, and I turn my head to look at her. To say she's a vixen is to do her an injustice. She is that which every female of my species hopes to one day be. Her eyes are the same fiery color of the midday sun and her fur is whiter than the freshly fallen snows of Tundra Town. It doesn't matter what she wears; she could make a burlap sack look like it was from some top name Furench designer.

“Karma,” I greet her simply.

“I see you finally took my hint, Nicholas.” Her voice sounds like honey poured over a perfectly played violin.

“The bunny?” I ask just before taking a sip of my brew.

“Judith Laverne,” she says kindly, much in the same way as she says my name. “Take care that nothing befalls her, Nicholas.”

I raise an eyebrow at that as Finnick plops a plate down in front me with my second bottle of ale. “Does Serendipity know you’re watching over one of her children?”

She smiles at me and picks up the second bottle of brew, taking a sip from it. “She does, and she approves,” Karma says cryptically. “The scales need to be balanced Nicholas; you understand this better than most.”

I nod as I search her face, but she just gives me a sly smile. I know better than to lock gazes with a deity, so I avoid looking into her eyes. “If it is within my power to do so, I shall keep her from harm,” I say after a moment and, unsurprisingly, I meant it. One just does not lie to a deity.

“Good boy,” she says to me. I can't help that my tail wags just a bit at being told I'm good by her. She stands and makes ready to leave, placing a gentle paw on my shoulder. To say I can feel the power that flowed through her would be an understatement; in that one moment she makes me feel as if I was a grain of sand standing before a mammoth tsunami. It's humbling and frightening at the same time. My tail instantly stops wagging as my ears lay down. I would give her my throat if it would make that terrible weight go away. “Be nicer to the bunny Nicholas,” she tells me, and I swallow hard. “You have few friends; a new friend would be nice, no?” Then the weight is gone and she leaves just as she came, with the lingering scent of cherries.

Finnick pops another brew in front of me. “Free,” he says, motioning to the new bottle and gathering up the empties.

I nod my thanks and take a bite out of my still warm sandwich. The meat tasted divine as I weighed what Karma had told or, as in most cases when she visits me, didn’t tell me. It takes time for the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach to go away. It’s slow at first, but the sudden conclusion that I come to is fairly simple. Something horrible is going to befall Carrots and I’m going to have to stand in front of it.

I slap down a couple of bills, more than enough to pay for my sandwich and brews, plus a generous tip and head out of the door. I shove my paws into my pockets and keep my head down as I walk the streets toward my humble abode.

Having Karma in your life is like having a parent that only shows up for birthdays and holidays. But instead of presents or money she only brings questions, and if I’m being totally honest they almost always lead to trouble. But this is the first time I have ever heard of one deity watching over a member of another’s flock.

These thoughts occupy my mind as I descend the stairs to my home. I’m the only one in the building with their own private entrance. Granted, my entrance is in the alleyway. But still, it’s private, and with the wards I have placed on it I doubt that my own landlord would be able to find the place. Not that I pay rent on it, as it was one of the few things left to me by my father.

My home is cold, even though it’s on the border of Savannah Central and the Downtown District. Even in the dead of summer it's cold. It’s a side effect of being my home and lab.

My home is mostly just an open room and is the only place in the building with a functional wood burning fireplace. In front of the fireplace is a couch and comfortable chair, both of which I got form a second paw store down the street some years ago. They could both stand to be reupholstered, but for now they are covered in thick blankets. The elephant sized dresser takes up the back wall; it's only three drawers tall so calling it a dresser might be a bit of a stretch, but the bottom drawer holds a fox sized queen mattress and a pile of blankets that serves as my bed. The floor would be just bare concrete if it wasn't for the fact that I’ve covered it in area rugs to ward off some of the chill. There is a small food preparation area that holds a sink, a few pots, and cast iron pans that I use to cook with over the fire of the fireplace, and a walled off corner that holds a three piece bathroom. I guess in some ways stepping into my home is like stepping into the past.

When I step into my home it must be what stepping into the Fortress of Solitude feels like for Supermammal. I feel both safe and free.

I look at the at the fireplace and snap my fingers; with a bare outpouring of energy the fireplace and candles around the room light up. The room is awash in the sudden warm firelight and the soothing snapping sound of burning wood fills the silence. Fire was one of the first things I mastered during my apprenticeship.

I reach over to the coat rack beside the door, picking up my heavy grey woolen robe and slipping it on, and then slip my feet into a pair of pink fuzzy slippers. Thankfully I never have guests so there is no one to judge me for my slippers. BBesides, if they spent any time in here they’d want all the warmth they could get too. Perhaps Karma was right; having a friend wouldn't be such a bad thing.

I walk over to the far back corner of my apartment and pull back the layer of rugs to reveal a trap door that leads down into the sub basement that is my lab. I pull up the trap door before descending down into the darkness and reach out to light the candles in the lab. My lab has the same floor space as the room above, which gives me plenty of room for experiments and material storage. The back wall of the room is dominated by a long table with a bench seat. The table has beakers and glass tubes going this way and that and small propane fueled Bunsen burners. Above the table on a shelf surrounded my tawdry romance novels and deities only knows what else sat a cheetah skull. The skull had belonged to my father, and the letter that he’d left for me along with the apartment told me that it had belonged to my mother. What purpose it served he had no idea, but my mother had told him it was my birthright, so he dutifully passed it down to me.

The skull itself is actually quite remarkable, and one of the reasons why I didn’t blow myself to smithereens upon first tapping into my magic. I suppose the best way to describe the skull is to say it’s a vessel for a spirit of knowledge. Kind of like Siri, if Siri had a taste for romances and shipping.

“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” a voice comes from the skull as soon as my slippered paws touch the cold concrete of my lab.

“The only cat here is you, Ben.” I turn toward the skull. “And you hardly dragged me anywhere.”

“Figure of speech, Nick,” Ben says before starting to make a sniffing sound. “Mammal you should shower; you positively reek of her. What did she do, bone you in an alley?”

I point my muzzle down at my chest and take a sniff. I don't think I reek of anything. “Ben, you know almost better than I do that my love life is nonexistent.”

“Well then, you must have had one hell of a run in with Karma. What did you do this time?” I roll my eyes as I sit down at the table.

“Nothing. I had dinner, she stole one of my beers, and she touched me.” I glare up at the skull. “On the shoulder, get your head out of the gutter.”

“In case you haven't noticed, my head is on a shelf in a dingy basement; a gutter might be a step up.” 

I sigh and look up at the skull. “She did say I needed to be nicer to the bunny.”

“Wait,” Bens ether blue eyes look at me. “You mean the bunny cop, right? The same one that gave you that ticket? The same one that’s been following you around for months?”

“One and the same” I say flatly.

I watch as the cold blue eyes blink at me. “Serendipity and Karma working together?” Ben asks quietly.

“I don’t know about working together, but Serendipity knows of Karma’s interest in Judy.”

“So she's ‘Judy’ now and not ‘that blasted demon bunny cop’?”

I glare up at the skull. “So maybe I told her she could help me with a case, which is the real reason I came down here.”

The sound that comes from the skull is ear piercing and jarring. “You, Mr. Loner Fox, too cool to let anything get to you, letting someone you've hated at for six months work on a case with you?” I swear the skull rattles the shelving a little bit.

I sigh. “Yes ok, I’m letting her work with me on a case.”

“My advice is to be nicer to her then,” Ben said. “Doesn’t do well to anger gods.”

I glare at Ben’s skull as he prattles on. “Also, you should totally take her to dinner; that place you go to serves prey as well, right? A little wining and dining of the bunny couldn’t hurt your chances any.”

“Ben,” I say as he keeps going.

“Bunnies also like flowers, so maybe get her flowers as well, but you need to be careful as bunnies practically have a language based around flowers.” Ben keeps going. “This would be so much easier if you could use a smartphone.”

“BEN!” I finally yell, getting the chatty skull to shut up. “I don't need the advice of a 3000 year old spirit concerning my love life. What I do need help with is figuring out what would make an otter who lives in the penthouse of one of the tallest buildings in the city nervous?”

“You would do well to take my advice regarding the bunny Nick; you’re alone way too much,” Ben tells me as I groan. “Is anyone from the otter’s household missing?”

“Her husband.”

“What about the rest of the city? Any upswings in missing mammal cases lately?”

“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully.

“You need to find out. Depending on the circumstances of the disappearances and timing you could have a real problem on your paws.” I swear I can almost see the skull grin at me. “I bet your new bunny cop partner would know.”

“What kind of problem?” I ask, choosing to ignore the last part.

“Vampires,” Ben says, and then goes quiet for a moment. “Honestly, it was only a matter of time. I mean, look at the size of this city; they could blend in rather well here.”

A low threatening growl escapes my throat. “Well, at least they burn.” I sneer.

“Quite handily too, but….” Ben trails off for a moment.

“But?” I ask.

“Well…..” I swear if a skull could look sheepish this one just did. “There’s been a small hive of vampires in the city for sometime, and if there’s a sudden increase in disappearances, they could either be doing a, ummmm recruitment drive, or….”

“I’m just now finding out about vampires being in my backyard.”

“You never asked before.”

“I shouldn't have to ask!” I all but scream at Ben’s skull.

“Look, calm down…” Ben says to me in the most gentle tone he's capable of. “It may not even be the vampires at all.”

“Ok, so what else could it be?”

“Well, it could be a blood mage.”

I glare up at the skull. “How is that any better?”

“Well it's not, but at least it's not a chupacabra.”

I blink. “Chupacabra? Aren’t those only myth?”

“Says the mammal who practically has Karma as his fairy godmother.”

I sigh, “Ok, so say it’s a chupacabra; what do I need to know about them?”

“Well, they travel in pairs, a male and a female. They typically don’t stay in one place long and have a rather nomadic existence.”

“Sounds benign so far,” I say.

“Actually, they’re pretty nasty creatures. They tend to steal the skins of their victims so they can walk around during the day. Unlike other vampires, these are born not made and almost borderline on being mammal. They leave behind bloodless skinned corpses, and it takes quite a bit to kill them,” Ben informs me, sounding much like a teacher reading from a textbook. 

“You said they’re fairly nomadic…” I prompt.

“Yes, unless the female is about to give birth,” Ben says. “Typically then expect the death count to go up drastically.”

“Like how drastically?”

“Eight to ten deaths a day for two months. Luckily they can be tracked with a fairly easy spell or by scent, since they smell a lot like a bloody moldy onion.”

I groan.

“Oh, but the likelihood of the problem being a chupacabra is pretty small; only one or two of the pups survive until adulthood. But still, you should ask bunny cop about missing mammals.”

“You said they were almost considered mammal?” I ask.

“Well the hearth ward still works on them, but as you know that only really works if the mammal truly thinks of the place as their home, and its effectiveness is lessened if they’re renting.”

I sigh as I stand up and stretch my back, and then sigh as it pops. “I think it's better if I hit the sack early tonight, Ben.”

“Good night,” I swear that skull grinned at me. “Have sweet dreams of your bunny.”

I huff at that as I climb the ladder back up to my apartment. First Karma and now Ben; I shake my head as I glance back down into the lab, willing the candles to wink out. Then again, Ben has been trying to set me up with anything with a fur coat and a pulse for years. I shudder at the thought of the last time I let him “out”.

Ben had even “shipped” Karma and me for a little while, saying I should ask her out. I think he just wanted to see if she would turn me into a pretzel or not. I kick the trap door closed and roll the carpet back over it. I reach out and one by one the candles in the apartment snuff themselves out, leaving only the fire in the fireplace to light the room. The fire has had enough time to start to ward the chill of the room away as I make my way across it to the dresser and pull out the bottom drawer. 

I take one more glance at the fire to make sure that it’s well stocked with wood before shedding the robe and slippers and getting ready for bed. I crawl up over the edge of the drawer and burrow my way under the blankets. Curling up in the center of the bed I hear Karma tell me once again. _“Be nicer to the bunny.”_ I shudder at the memory of her titanic power measured against mine and for a split second it almost feels as if she’s in the room with me. She very well could be, but I know better than to go looking.

I wish I could say I slept well. But I didn’t; at least I awoke well rested. My sleep is plagued by the same nightmares that I’ve had since I first tapped into my magic at 13 years old. It’s a bittersweet memory, and one that I fear will haunt me for the rest of my days.

I find myself curled around a small pillow that I don't even remember grabbing. It’s warm from my own body heat, and I lay clinging to it and the last vestiges of sleep. I make my way up onto all fours, knowing my habits from time on my grandfather's farm wouldn’t allow me to go back to sleep. That old fox had much to teach me, about life and about magic. I’ve since found out he has stuck his neck out for me in more ways than one. I should make a point to go visit him soon, since we’d probably cause half the phone system to go down between the two of us .

The main lesson I will always be thankful for is his work ethic. He would tell me, “Nicky, never put off to tomorrow what needs to be done today, no matter how dirty the job is .” And then he would hand me a shovel and have me help him move fertilizer. I smile at the memory as I shake the blankets off of me.

I climb back over the edge of the bed and look down at my sleep wrinkled clothes. I start shedding them, making sure to take the little bit I still have from Mrs. Otterton’s pay and place it on the bed before tossing my clothes into the clothes hamper.

I step into the bathroom and into the shower. Out of reflex I turn on the hot water, but it comes out ice cold. One of the things I miss about my grandfather's farm is his wood fired water heater; granted, I had to make sure the fire of was lit before dawn every day and keep the fire under it going. But I was grateful for the hot shower at the end of every day. I endure my shower and towel myself off; it takes time, as my summer coat is still coming. The extreme cold of my home doesn't help with my body's sense of the seasons. As such, my coat is still a little thick for this time of year.

I dress pretty simply: dark short sleeved shirt with a collar, red tie, and a pair of khaki pants. The tie I leave pretty loose at my neck, with the collar button of the shirt undone. I stuff a bit of my left over cash into my pocket and stash the rest away as savings. I palm my keys as I open the door to leave. I look at my staff leaning on the wall beside the door and decide for the moment to leave it. While Ben may think I'm dealing with vampires, I have yet to see any evidence to that end. I just have a scared otter with a missing husband and a bunny partner that may or may not have some doom hanging over her head. I sigh as I lock my door. Seems like a normal Wednesday to me.

The air outside my home, in stark contrast to the inside, is warm. While the sun has come up a bit, it has yet to reach a point where the streets are not yet cast in shadow. I step out of the alley between the buildings, looking up and down the street. The little bit of traffic on the street is flowing nicely and there is next to no foot traffic. 

I stuff my paws into my pockets and slump my shoulders just a bit, attempting to look like what I am. Just a fox trudging his way to work. I will say it’s odd; for six months I have walked to work and almost always along the way I'm accosted in some shape or form by the bunny cop. I mean, I know I told her she could help, but I guess a part of me has gotten use to the call of “hey fox!” and mildly aggressive threats and warnings.

I dip into one of my favorite coffee shops for a pair of muffins, one blueberry one carrot, and twenty minutes later I'm walking up the steps to my office building. “Hey! Uhhh, Mr. Wilde? Wait,” I hear the familiar voice call out to me. I turn to see the bunny in question run to catch up. I’ll admit I’d thought that the only thing in her wardrobe was cop attire, so the country bunkin look kinda throws me off a bit. 

“Good morning Officer Fluff,” I greet her. I’ll be honest, I am somewhat surprised she showed up at all. I mean, while I am a licensed private investigator, I am also listed under the yellow pages as Wizard, and I'm pretty sure the ZPD has me classified as a loon.

“Good morning…” she starts, but her eyes show a mild bit of panic. I can see she's trying not to offend me by calling me “fox”.

“Nick,” I supply as I turn and walk with her the rest of the way up the stairs and hold the door open for her. “Mr. Wilde was my father. I take it Chief Bogo let you have the day off?”

“He’s letting me have a week off,” she said. “I figured it would take longer than a day to find Mr. Otterton.”

I smile. It’s not finding Mr. Otterton that worries me; it’s finding what is hunting Mrs. Otterton. I honestly could find Mr. Otterton in an afternoon with a fairly simple tracking spell using a bit of fur or something he's used everyday.

“Does he know what you’re up to?” I ask as we walk up the stairs.

“Why do you take the stairs?” she asks as a poor deflection of the question. Her deflection is more telling than if she’d lied. It would’ve been fairly easy for her to lie too, as I have no easy way of verifying the truth.

I smile as we go through the doorway for the seventh floor where my office is. “Machinery and electronics don't fare well around me,” I answer honestly. “If you have a smart phone I would recommend turning it off.”

I unlock my office door and step inside. My right paw automatically moves to flick on the lights, but I remember that I have not yet replaced the bulbs from when Mrs. Otterton startled me yesterday.

“What, forgot to pay your electric bill?” she asks as I walk across the room and pull open the blinds. I can hear the smirk on her face.

I sit the bag of muffins down on my desk and walk across the room to the coffee maker and flip it on. Thankfully I did remember to set it up yesterday before I left for Finnick's. “No, the bulbs burned out yesterday,” I answer as the coffee pot starts to bubble and snort. I have no clue why this thing still works, and I have chosen not to question it as long as it makes me the elixir of the gods that makes morning halfway bearable.

“Have there been any other disappearances or is Mr Otterton the only one?” I ask.

“You’re joking right?” she asks me as my heart starts to drop. “You haven't seen the news?”

“I just got done telling you that electronics and machinery don't fare well around me, Carrots.” I turn and look at her. Her nose twitches slightly as she studies me.

“Twenty-two,” she answers me. “The latest was just this morning.” She has to have seen how tense that answer makes me as I turn back to my coffee pot. For some reason the follow up question doesn't come, and now I think I might understand Karma telling me to protect the bunny.

“Coffee?” I ask as I pour myself a cup, suddenly wishing for something a bit stronger.

“That amount of caffeine isn't good for rabbits due to our higher heart rates,” Judy says. “But I'll have tea or a bottle of water if you have it.”

I smile, picking up a bottle of water and carrying it over to her before I sit down at my desk with my coffee. We study each other, me very subtly avoiding looking too long at her eyes. They’re the color of amethyst ,and just beg for me to get lost in them.

“Tell me something Officer,” I say, breaking the silence after a few moments. “Do you believe in magic?”


	3. Chapter 2:

# Chapter 2:

I watch unamused as the rabbit falls off of the chair laughing, and reach for the bag of muffins to remove the blueberry. I take a sip of my coffee before biting into the muffin itself. It's everything a muffin should be: moist and delicious. Honestly, buying muffins this morning was a splurge on my part. It's not as if I have a lot of disposable income with the money I received from Mrs. Otterton.

The laughing is starting to be more than mildly annoying, but I really shouldn’t have expected her to take me seriously. I bet the first thing she did was go read whatever amounts to the file that the ZPD has on me. I highly doubt that there’s much in it. It's not as if I spent a lifetime living on the streets as a hustler, like many of my species end up or worse. Maybe a demonstration is in order?

Chewing on a mouthful of muffin, I open up one of the drawers of my desk and take out a box of salt. I don't know if my movements have drawn her attention or not, but the laughing has died down a little bit. I pop the spout of the box open with the claw tip of my thumb and slowly pour a perfect circle of salt on my desk. Carving the circle would have been better, but I really don't want to ruin my desk. Salt makes a decent medium in pinch; so does caulk. Both, thankfully, are relatively cheap. I reach into the bag and pull out the carrot muffin, placing it inside the circle.

I close my eyes and take a breath. I really hope she turned off her phone. Oh well, she’d been warned. Magic is 90% intent, 2% knowledge, 2% power, and 6% will. I envision an impenetrable shield around the muffin, shaping it in my mind as I draw upon the energy around us. Extending the fore finger of my right paw, I touch it to the salt as I push a small amount of my annoyance and will into it; the shield snaps into place.

The air snaps with the sudden expenditure of energy, and so does her phone. The shield glows blue for a moment, but fades; all that’s left is a very faint hum. At the same time she lets out a startled squeak. I open my eyes and see a faint blue cloud of smoke waft to the ceiling from the edge of my desk, presumably from where the now startled rabbit is sitting on the floor. “Muffin?” I ask smugly. 

She rises up from the floor slowly. Her eyes peek just over the edge of the desk; her nose is twitching rapidly. I take another sip of my coffee and another bite of my muffin. Her ears are laid flat down her back and I partially wonder if I might have overdone it. I can tell she's battling with fight or flight; since I am not making any sudden movements I'm hoping that she doesn’t see me as a threat. Her eyes track from me to the muffin and back again.

I watch as her eyes harden; she can tell that she's being tested. I can see it in the set of her eyes, the way her body language changes. This is a rabbit that has never backed down from a challenge; how hard can getting a muffin be, after all? I watch and take a sip of my coffee as her paw reaches for the muffin and is stopped. The shield glows blue where her fingers come in contact with it, much the same way as a plasma ball reacts to a child’s paw touching it. She cocks her head to one side as she tries to understand what’s happening. Her eyes track back to me, then to the muffin.

“How?” she asks as she places her entire paw on the shield. The shield flares blue but holds strong, I can tell she's putting more effort into it; she's standing fully now and her ears are upright. She was projecting more curiosity than fear at the moment.

I smile at her and lean forward. “Isn’t this Zootopia?” I ask as I reach toward the shield with my will, modifying my spell. “The city where anyone can be anything?” I had read the silly travel brochures at the corner convenience store. The city really does need to work on its marketing a bit more.

I reach forward with my paw, the shield allowing my finger to pass through as I slowly pull out the muffin. “Well, I be a wizard,” I say as I hold the muffin out to her.

She took the muffin and sat back down in the chair. She took a bite out of it as I dismissed the shield. All that left was some blackened salt and the faint smell of ozone. The ozone could have been from her phone, which I'm sure I will hear about shortly. Her eyes narrowed as she came to some realization.

“You said machinery and electronics don't fare well around you,” shestates, and I nod. “What kind of machinery?” she asks.

“All kinds; prewar stuff lasts the longest but anything after around 1980 fails pretty fast,” I state.

“It was you…” she starts to say. Her eyes harden and seem to bore holes into me. “YOU made the brakes fail!” She throws her muffin at me, hitting me in the face. “YOU JERK!” she yells at me. “You cost me $250! Do you know how little first year officers make?” she yells as she starts to pace in front of my desk. “I have to work my tail off just to keep my job, even if Bogo only sees me as a meter maid, and you go off and cause the brakes to fail on the cart! I had to pay out of pocket to repaint that zebra’s mirror!”

I open the top drawer of my desk, pull out a napkin, and start to wipe the muffin off of my face. I sigh; maybe the demonstration hadn’t been such a good idea. “I should arrest you for tampering with city property.” That causes me to raise an eyebrow.

“Oh?” I ask. “Just how are you going to prove that I did it?”

“It will be your word against…” Her eyes go wide as she pulls out her cell phone. I look over the edge of my desk.

“No, no, no,” she says as she presses one of the buttons on the side in a frantic attempt to turn on the device. She sighs and slumps her shoulders as she looks up at me.

I’m tempted to look her in the eyes and send her running for the hills, but Karma’s voice keeps ringing in my ears. _“Be nice to the bunny.”_ I throw the napkin with bits of muffin into the trash can beside my desk and stand up.

She tenses, ready to spring into action at any moment, as I walk around my desk and back over to the coffee pot. I can feel her eyes on me as I pour another cup of coffee. I shake my head as I take a sip. _My parking ticket __was__ around __$__250,_ I think to myself. I weigh my options carefully. On one paw I could rub her speciesism in her face, call her a liar, and throw her out of my office, maybe even lodge a complaint with the ZPD. On the other, I could extend an olive branch.

I sigh as I sit back down into my chair. “I’m sorry Officer Hopps. I believe we have gotten off on the wrong paw.” I extend my right paw over my desk to her. “Nick Wilde, professional wizard,” I introduce myself. Trust me when I say that going for the first option was tempting as hell. But this rabbit has the attention of a deity that has been in and out of my life personally, one that I know for a fact would make me suffer for not heading her warning. So the olive branch it is.

She looks from my muzzle to my paw then back again. I can see the incredulity on her face. Finally she reaches out and to shake my paw. “Officer Judy Hopps, ZPD, pleasure to meet you Mr. Wilde.”

“Likewise Officer Hopps. Now, I hear thatyou’re Mr. Otterton’s goddaughter, correct?” I ask, giving her a way out if she lied to me.

Much to my surprise, she nods. “I am; my family has had a business relationship with the Ottertons since before I was born.”

“Now Officer, what can you tell me about the other missing mammals?” I ask. I don’t think she will or can tell me much, but it's worth a try.

She looks to me then to the blackened salt ring on my desk. “I’m not supposed to comment on ongoing investigations,” she tells me, and then smiles. “But I don’t see why I can’t tell you what’s already been published in the news.”

I pick up my pen and flip open my notebook. “Up until just recently, it’s mostly been large mammals that have been disapppearing. Polar bears, caribou even an elephant,” she tells me. I pause in taking my notes and look up at her to check for deception Seeing none, I go back to my notebook.

“Anything connecting them?” I ask, hopeful that she’ll share something she's heard.

“Not that any of the other officers are saying.” She looks away for a moment before adding, “I’ve been on meter maid duty since graduation.” I don’t think she was supposed to tell me that, but I make note of it anyway.

“Have any more smaller mammals gone missing?” I ask.

“A few,” she admits.

I look across my desk at her. “I take it that’s not public knowledge yet?”

She shook her head at my question. I can see her tense up. I have a bad feeling about this.

“Do you think they’re all connected?” she asks.

“Maybe,” I answer truthfully. I’m honestly not sure what to share with the rabbit. I’ve already proven the existence of magic to her, but is she ready to learn about the reality behind bedtime stories? That the things that parents use to scare their kits into behaving actually exist?

“Have any bodies turned up?” I ask, not really expecting an answer.

“Not that I’ve heard about,” she answers. My sense of dread increases.

My job was supposed to be simple. Find Mr. Otterton and find what has been hunting Mrs. Otterton and, I presume, stop it. I had more questions for Ben, but that could wait until later; I really don't want to take the bunny cop into my home let alone my lab.

I close my notebook and stand up. I could feel the rabbit’s eyes looking at me like I might spring at her . She isn't afraid, that much I can tell; maybe just wary. After all, I did just turn her world upside down. I walk over to my coffee station and turn off the coffee pot. then open the cabinet underneath and pull out a backpack.

Into the backpack I place a small silver bowl, a bottle of water, a wine cork, and a silver needle. Zipping up the backpack I turn and head for the door. “You coming?” I ask.

“You’re still going to let me help?” she asks as I turn and look at her.

“I don't see why not,” I say. What I don't say is, this makes keeping her safe a little easier. A mundane threat I'm sure she would be more than capable of handling herself, but a vampire? Besides, staying in Karma’s good graces is a goal I strive for.

We walk out of my office door and I take a minute to make sure the sign is turned to say “The Wizard is Out’”. I honestly don't know when I’ll be back in the office but that’s why I have an answering service. 

We exit the building and I sling the backpack over my right shoulder. We head up the street toward the downtown district as the city for the most part hustles and bustles around us with neither a thought nor a care about what might be happening around them. That's the way of most of these things; most mammal stick their heads in the sand and prefer to think of the world’s problems as someone else's.

“How…” Judy starts to say, pulling me out of my thoughts. She seems uncertain how to ask her question. 

“How what?” I ask.

“Well, how did you learn magic?” Judy asks. I look down at her; I can see that she is clearly curious about the power that I wield. I think for a moment about what to tell her. The truth of the matter is far from pleasant, but I really don't want to weigh her down with the weight of that knowledge. Does she deserve the truth of the matter? Maybe someday, but it’s not really something I want to talk about at the moment.

“My grandfather taught me how to wield it,” I answer It’s the truth, but not all of it.

She nods and looks up at me; something about her features told me that she knew there was something I wasn’t saying. For now though, she doesn't press me on the issue.

“I’m sorry about your phone, by the way,” I say, changing the subject.

She sighs. “You did warn me. But that’s why I have insurance on it. If we can stop by a Pawizon I can get it replaced.”

“We just so happen to be heading downtown, so that shouldn’t be much of a problem.” I think for a moment. “What did you tell your chief to let you have the time off?”

“I told him I needed a few days off to help my godmother,” she says.

I’m kind of impressed. I didn’t think a bunny of all creatures had that level of sly in them. If she was telling the truth about how she got the time off, then I’m impressed. “Why did you try to record our conversation this morning?” I ask. 

I see the sudden slump in her shoulders as she looks down at her feet. “I hoped to catch you doing something illegal so that maybe Chief Bogo would finally see me as a real cop.” 

We walk the rest of the way to her godmother’s apartment building in silence. I’m not fully sure what to think. I had asked a question and got a straightforward and honest answer. To be fair, I’m not even sure I would do anything different in her shoes, and a part of me can respect that. Another part of me wants to rail at the rabbit in self righteous anger, but I can’t really bring myself to do it. The fact that she admitted to it outright tells me she's not one to normally go around trying to stab mammals in the back. Besides, she sucks at it.

We enter the building and are greeted by two security guards. Grey wolves in blue rent a cop uniforms. The most telling thing to me is the fact that either their employer or the city doesn’t thing these two are worth arming.

“How are you today, Larry and Garry?” Judy asks them politely.

“We’re fine, Miss Hopps,” one of the wolves answers.

“Do you need us to get rid of the pelt for you ma’am?” the other asks.

Much to my surprise Judy stops and stares down the wolf. “Garry,” she says to the wolf almost menacingly. “What have I told you about slurs?”

The wolf swallows nervously and glances my way before turning his attention back on the rabbit. “That the next time you would use us as a sparring partner.”

I turn my attention from the wolf to the bunny in question. I’ve been around the block a time or two;the stance of her feet, the set of her shoulders, and the look of cold confidence in her eye told me she was ready for a fight. Something else told me that there are more than strong odds that she could win against the wolves, even at two to one.

“I’m, uh, sorry Mr…..” the wolf starts to say to me, pulling me out of my thoughts. I assume this chuckle-head is Garry.

“Wilde,” I grin at them. “Nick Wilde.”

“Oh, ummm, sorry sir, Mrs. Otterton told us you would be by. Please go right on up,” the other wolf, who I will assume is Larry, said. I could tell he was obviously trying to diffuse the situation.

I nod and start walking away, hoping to see signs for the stairs. Judy lingers for a moment before walking away and catching up to me.

“You idiot!” I hear Larry somewhat quietly exclaim to Garry. “I'm still sore from the last time she mopped the floor with us!”

I take a minute to reassess the rabbit beside me. Maybe there’s more to her than I originally thought. More than just a cute fluffy bunny that wears a fur tight uniform. I still have my doubts about how well prepared she is to face a vampire, but she might be less of a liability than I’d initially assumed..

I spot the door marked stairs and start to head for it.

“Uhh….Nick.” She pauses a moment as if weighing her words carefully. “Do you think we can take the elevator? My godmother lives on the 45th floor….”

I eye the elevator the same way she eyed the wolves a few moments before. The building looks well maintained so maybe, just _maybe_, it won't malfunction and trap us for a day in it. I don't mind taking the stairs, but she’s right, the 45th floor is a lot of stairs.

I walk with her over to the elevators.

She looks up at me as she presses the call button. “Relax,” she says.

“Oh, and how many times have you been trapped inside an elevator that malfunctioned just because you stepped inside of it?” I ask.

“None,” she freely admits. “But in the past, the more I stressed about a bad thing happening the more likely it was to happen.”

Optimism, hopeless boundless optimism. Maybe it's like a superpower for her, but oddly enough her words ring true. I’ve known elder wizards on the council that have had less wisdom than this younger rabbit. What? Just because I’m the only wizard in Zootopia doesn't mean I'm the only wizard in the world. What kind of lonely existence do you think I have?

The elevator dings just seconds before the doors open and we step inside. I let her press the floor button as I lean my shoulder against the wall as far from the control panel as I can. I concentrate on my breathing, in and out, and don't worry about the ever growing chasm developing under us should the elevator catastrophically fail.

The elevator’s door are highly polished stainless steel, and I use that to surreptitiously study the rabbit’s reflection. Her fur is a light silvery grey with a white underbelly, but her most striking feature is her eyes. They are truly wondrous things. I have watched them darken to the color of deep amethyst or lighten to a pale purple depending on her mood. I look away before she catches me staring, or worse, locks gazes with me.

The elevator slowed to a stop with minimal fuss and the doors groaned open. But at least we didn’t get stuck for hours on end in the blasted contraption, so for that I am eternally grateful. The hallway that we enter is fairly lavish in accommodation, with thick plush carpet and clean walls. 

I follow Officer Hopps down the hall. She knows where we’re going, so it’s not that big of a deal. I try to keep the surprise off of my face when we stop in front of a fairly lavish set of double doors at the end of the hall and she presses a button for a doorbell instead of knocking. Honestly, how big of an apartment is it if it needs a doorbell?

The door is opened by a female skunk in a pinstripe skirt and white blouse. Her long black and white tail stood proudly behind her with just the slightest bit of curl to the end of it. Her half lidded, almost bored grey eyes first look to Judy. There is something off about the skunk either in her stance or the set of her eyes, I cannot quiet put my finger on what yet. “Ah, Miss Hopps, an unexpected surprise, and I see you brought a…” Her eyes turn to me and narrow ever so slightly. “Guest,” she finishes. I start to get the impression that if I had showed up here without Carrots I wouldn’t have even made it through the building’s entrance.

“Good morning, Fifi,” Judy greeted the skunk. “Is Olivia in?”

“She is in the sun room,” Fifi says as she takes a step aside. “You may come in,, but your….” She eyes me again. “Friend will have to stay outside; we do not wish for our silverware to disappear, no?”

“Ah, Judy, so pleasant of you to drop by…” I heard Mrs. Otterton’s voice say just as the door was shut in my face after Judy stepped into the apartment. I blink at the door and its sudden appearance before my muzzle. While I can hear some raised voices on the other side of the door, I cannot make out what is being said.

My father had long ago attempted to prepare me for the hate the world would throw my way for having the fortunate luck of being born a fox. His sagest advice had been: “Never let them see they get to you, Nicky.” He told me this more than once throughout my life. It probably would have been the last words he said to me. While I’m generally able to mask my emotions, there is one facet of my life that reacts no matter what I choose to do: my magic. As such, the lights in the hall flicker as three sets of bulbs in the hallway wink out in response to my irritation.

A moment later a much less haughty Fifi opens the door. “I’m sorry for my rudeness Mr. WIlde please come in.” As I step into the apartment I brush past Fifi, I catch my first whiff of her scent. It's not quite what I had expected, not repugnant but also not quite right. It could be a perfume or a musk mask she uses after all she's a skunk but still….

What greets me is honestly the most luxurious place I have ever seen. The floors are a highly polish rich dark wood. With thick area throw rugs places strategically here and there to break up the place. The ceilings are high enough that I'm pretty sure an elephant or maybe a giraffe would feel comfortable in the space. Honestly stepping into the space felt like being teleported into one of those Better Dens and Gardens rags at the supermarket. The kind us poor mammals try our hardest to ignore for how it makes us feel about our own living conditions. I mean I bet she doesn't sleep in no lower drawer of a fifth paw dresser.

“Mr. Wilde, I apologize for Fifi’s rudeness,” Mrs. Otterton says to me with Judy at her side. “I’ll be honest, I'm quite surprised to see you working with my goddaughter.” 

“Think nothing of it Mrs. Otterton; I’m used to it,” I reply. “As for working with Officer Hopps, she can be quite persuasive.”

“You shouldn’t need to be used to it Mr. Wilde; one would think with the stigma she herself has faced that she would be above such nonsense.” Mrs. Otterton shook her head. “I suppose you’re here for Emmitt's brush.”

“Yes ma’am; it will help speed up the process of finding your husband,” I answer.

“Judy dear, you know where it is at.” Mrs Otterton said.

“I do,” Judy replies as she starts to move deeper into the apartment.

“Just a moment, Officer Hopps,” I say as I reach into the outer pocket of my backpack and pull out a large ziplock bag and hand it to her. “Please put it in this.”

Judy nods and takes the bag with her, leaving me alone with Mrs. Otterton and Fifi.

“So tell me, how is it that you came to be working with my goddaughter?” Mrs. Otterton asks as soon as Judy leaves the room.

I shrug nonchalantly. “She asked, and I thought she could be of value to the investigation.” I don’t think that telling her a fox deity told me to be nicer to the bunny would garner me any more favor with my employer.

The smile Mrs. Otterton gives me borderlines on smug, as if she has a piece of information that I do not have. I’m certain it has nothing to do with her missing husband either. It mildly vexes me. I was about to ask a question when Carrots returned.

“Got it!” she says, holding up the baggie with a fur brush inside and handing it to me.

“Excellent,” Mrs Otterton says. “If there is nothing else, I am a very busy otter Mr. Wilde.”

“Certainly Mrs. Otterton,” I say as I stuff the baggie into my backpack and step back out the door.

“Judith dear, please be careful,” Mrs Otterton says as she joins me in the hall.

“I will Mrs. Otterton!” Judy calls as she walksbeside me. “So you’re going to use magic to find Emmett?” she asks. I can hear the curiosity in her voice.

“Not quite yet,” I answer her as she presses the call button for the elevator once again. “There are a couple of things we need to do first.”

“What's that?”

“Well you need a new phone, and I need to file a bit of paperwork with the ZPD,” I tell her as we step into the blasted elevator.

“Paperwork?” I smirk at her confused tone.

“The ZPD requires that I file paperwork regarding any private investigations that I undertake. Especially any time when my case might overlap one of theirs; and this, Carrots, overlaps,” I tell her, watching her expression in the polished metal of the elevator.

Other than the lights flickering a few times, the ride down to the lobby passes without any problems. But the elevator car did groan ominously when we step out into the lobby.

“I hate those things,” I mumble as we head out of the lobby and onto the street once again.

“So you need to file paperwork with the ZPD?” Judy asks me as we walk down a bustling downtown sidewalk.

“Yep, ZPD Form 10-100,” I answer. There’s a slight twitch of her right ear as we near Precinct One. “There’s a Pawizon just across the street,” I point out. “Shouldn’t take me more than 30 minutes to file my paperwork.” What I don't mention is part of that will be spent in the doughnut shop just a building down from Precinct One. I know the receptionist there, and that tubby cheetah has a thing for doughnuts. While the doughnuts might not be necessary to file my paperwork, it does make him a bit more chatty, and I need some information.

She nods as she looks across the street at the store. I can see the wheels turning in her head. I suspect she knows that I’m trying to ditch her for a small period of time, and she's weighing the risks of calling my bluff and walking into her station with me when she's supposed to be helping her godmother.

She nods and walks with me to end of the block. “Thirty minutes, then,” She says at the corner as she steps into the queue to cross to the other side of the street.

I'm sure there’s some angle that I am not seeing from this rabbit. I know she was trying earlier to catch me doing something illegal. Now I need to find out if that was because her boss put her on my tail or because she just sees a shifty fox.

We part ways as the lights change and I head toward Precinct One. After a quick stop into the local doughnut shop for a baker’s dozen of assorted doughnuts with sprinkles, I walk into the atrium of Precinct One.

I hate coming here; if there was ever a thicker hive of bigotry and self importance, I have yet to step into it. Most of the mammals employed by the city are on the larger side of the size scale. That honestly doesn't surprise me; Chief Bogo has always had a stance that larger, more intimidating mammals make for better officers. It's sad though, as most of the city’s populace is made up of medium sized mammals and below.

The architecture of the building is grand in its layout; most of the first floor is vast and open, with a small stage to one side backed by windows. In the center sits an overweight cheetah in police blues behind a mostly curved desk. There is no small amount of Gazelle memorabilia on the desk, but the main work area is mostly clean, with the exception of what looks like an empty box of doughnuts.

The tubby cheetah himself is personable; honestly, I have yet to have a bad interaction with him. Sometimes he speaks before he thinks, but I can’t really hold that against him. I just wish the city would employ more like him, which might possibly make the world a better place.

“Hey Spots,” I greet the cheetah as I walk up to his desk with the box of doughnuts in my paws. “You need a refill?” I ask as I hold them up.

“Ohhh my goodness! How do you always manage to do that?” he asks me. I see the true glee in his eyes and I smile slightly. “You always seem to show up when I run out,” he says as he throws the empty box away and puts the new box in its place. “So, what can I do for you?”

“I need to file a Form 10-100 and maybe get the low down on a mammal,” I say.

“Certainly, but you do know you can fill out the 10-100 online, right?” He never has believed that I’m a wizard, but my credentials are good. He should know, since he filed them himself.

“Then I couldn’t come down here and see you, Spots.” I smile as I take the clipboard from him and start to fill in the information with the provided pen. The form itself is relatively simple: name, credential number, what the case is, and who I’m working for.

“So what's the case this time?” Clawhauser asks me. “Poltergeists in the pipes? Oh I know, a sudden infestation of vampires?”

“No, not this time. Missing mammal Emmitt Otterton,” I say as I finish filling out the clip board.

“Really?” Clawhauser asks me as he bends forward. “You know the Chief hasn't taken that one overly seriously.”

“I can tell, otherwise she wouldn't have come to me.” _Why did Mrs Otterton come to me_, I ask myself. There are other more high profile PIs that are not labeled as wizards under the yellow pages.

“She has been in here everyday for three weeks,” Clawhauser tells me just before he stuffs a doughnut into his mouth.

“Really?” I ask, and the chubby cheetah nods ecstatically.

“Just between us,” Clawhauser starts as he picks up another doughnut. “He hasn’t even assigned out the case.”

“What about Officer Hopps?”

“What about her?” Clawhauser asked as he stuffs the doughnut into his mouth.

“Isn’t she an available officer?”

Clawhauser looks around to make sure no one is listening in on our conversation. “Look, you didn’t hear it from me, but she’s only technically an officer.”

“What's that supposed to mean? Did she pass the academy or not?”

“Well she did, but….” He looks around nervously. “Chief don't want her. He's afraid that he's going to have to add her to the Wall of Heroes. Plus, we have no one her size class to partner her up with.”

“So why doesn't he move her?” I ask.

“He can’t; she's Mayor Lionheart's pet project.” Clawhauser picked up a doughnut and stuffed it into his maw. “But if he could, she’d be transferred permanently to Parking Enforcement with Marabell.”

I frown at this as Clawhauser continues. “I heard she tried to take the Emmitt Otterton case, but as soon as Mrs. Otterton said she knew she could rely on her goddaughter, she was immediately removed from the case for being too close to it. She’s lucky to still have her job at this point.”

I look at the time on the wall clock above Clawhauser. “Thanks Spots!” I say as I start moving toward the door.

“Wait!” he calls. “Didn’t you need the 411 on some mammal?”

“You gave me all I needed; besides, if I don't get moving now I'll be late,” I call back to him. I can’t help but smile as I hear him say. “Cripes, my computer locked up again!” while banging the mouse on the desk space.

I stuff my paws into my pockets as I walk down the street toward where we’d separated. My conversation with Clawhauser explains a few things about my rabbit companion. While it gave me some insight into what she’s facing at work, it gave me next to no insight into what kind of mammal she is.

“Hey Nick, get your paperwork filed?” she asks as I approach.

“Yep. Now if we stumble into a crime scene I won’t end up in jail,” I tell her.

She nods at me. “So now what?” she asks. I can tell she’s getting a little impatient.

“Did you get your phone sorted out?” I ask.

“Yes, and I’ve even left it off.” I smile at her. I can say one thing about this rabbit; at least she learns from her mistakes.

“Ok, now we need a ride,” I tell her as we cross the street and head back toward my office.

“If you knew we were going to need a car, why didn’t we bring yours instead of walk?” she asks, I can hear more than a little bit of minor annoyance creep into her voice.

I look down at her and smile. “And risk getting another parking ticket?”

Her eyes turn up at me before she looks away, embarrassed. “Sorry,” she mumbles.

I weigh her reaction against what Clawhauser told me. “It’s okay,” I tell her after a moment. The rest of the walk to the parking garage just down the street from my office is made in silence.

My car is probably older than the pair of us combined. It's a Volkspawgen Beetle that I have named Blueberry, as at one point in its life it was blue. Now it’s a hodge podge collection of mismatched panels and parts. The drivers side door is yellow, the passenger side is green, the hood and trunk came off of the same white car. The roof panel has been replaced so many times that my mechanic just leaves it primer grey now. But, say what you will, it works most of the time and is relatively cheap for him to keep running. 

“Can you drive?” I ask.

“Top of my class at the academy; of course I can drive,” she says proudly. I roll my eyes and dig my paw into my pocket for my car keys. I toss them to her just before kneeling behind the car and unzipping my backpack.

Taking out the silver bowl, I sit it on the cool concrete of the garage and then take out the needle and wine cork. I press the needle through the cork and place it into bowl. Next, I reach into the backpack and take out the bottle of water, pouring just enough into the bowl to make the cork float. Taking out the plastic bag with the fur brush, I pull off several strands of fur and drop them into the bowl.

I can feel her eyes on me as I close mine and start to draw on my innate power. I start to mumble a bit of quasi Latin to help shape the spell. Fur is a great way to track another mammal; you can use it and a somewhat simple spell to locate its owner. I open my eyes as I press my finger to the rim of the bowl and mutter. “Seek.” I watch the needle and cork spin in circles a few times before pointing in a solid direction to the east.

The problem with this spell vs the shield I had done earlier is this spell requires an almost constant trickle of energy and concentration to maintain. The shield would have maintained itself until the energy placed into it was used up. Since Carrots didn’t put any real strain on it, it would have maintained itself for some time. This involves asking the fibers of fur to point the direction to their owner, and in order to find said owner I have to keep asking them to find him.

“You’re going to need to drive,” I say, handing her the backpack just before picking up the bowl.

“That's pointing to Emmitt?” she asks.

“Yes,” I answer as I walk toward the car, the needle still pointing solidly to the east. She quickly walks over and unlocks the door for me and opens it.

“So could you use it to, say, find a lost kit?” she asks before closing the door.

“I could if said kit is within 50 miles of where I cast the spell,” I explain after she climbs into the driver seat.

“If they were beyond 50 miles?” she asks.

“Then the needle would just spin in circles,” I explain. “It's even harder if the kit is being moved.”

She looks over at me as she backs out of my parking spot. “So which way?” she asks.

“Leave the garage and turn right.” Making a right turn out of the garage is easier than cutting across the flow of traffic. Besides, the Blueberry might run but it’s not going to be winning any races anytime in the foreseeable future.

She floors the gas as she turns out into traffic and the engine coughs and sputters as it attempts to obey. “Ummm, when was the last time you did any maintenance on this thing?” she asks, shooting a glance over at me.

“Be gentle; it’s older than both of us,” I tell her as I watch the needle in the water. “Make a right at this light, then another right at the next one.”

“So we need to turn around?” she asks.

“We do.” I would love to tell you that the tires scream as she turns the car around. But they don’t; I scream. The suddenness of her cutting across three lanes of traffic to make that U-turn was a bit much.

Thankfully the water remains inside the bowl and not all over my lap. I shot a look over at my lapine driver and ask, “Are all rabbits horrible drivers or just you?”

“Sorry, I just don't see any need to drive around like my grandma when we need to be going the other way,” she shoots back. “Besides, listening to you scream like one of my little sisters was kind of funny.”

“Har, har, har,” I say, looking back down at the needle as the water settles. “Yes, I'm sure your younger sister would be quiet amused.”

“Yes, I'm sure all 143 of my sisters would be amused to hear that the big bad fox that our father has been telling us about screams like a little doe,” she quips.

My ears pin back to my head and I look over at her from the corner of my eye. “You’re joking, right?”

“Nope, not one bit. I have 143 sisters and 132 brothers.” She glances over at me with a smirk. “What? Rabbits are good at multiplying.”

I concede the point. I mean, there’s a reason that in many cultures the fertility god, or in most cases goddess, is a rabbit. But I’ve never had it just blatantly shoved in my face before. Then again, a lot of rabbits avoid me like I have mange.

The rest of the ride passes quietly as the city thins around us and we start to cross one of the bay bridges. Not that I notice, since I’m keeping a close watch on the needle and my concentration on my spell.

“Nick?” she asks as we near the city limits and tall pine trees start to tower over us.

“Mmmm?” I ask, not looking up from the needle. It looks like it’s starting to veer to the right.

“Unless this rust bucket of yours has a four wheel drive setting that I’m not aware of, we’re going to have to walk,” she says as she slows the car to a stop.

For the first time in a while I look up. The forest and the hills outside of the city loom over us far more than they should for the middle of the afternoon. I frown as I look down at the needle , which is pointing into the forest. I look over at my companion, whose curiosity appears to have been replaced with thinly veiled disbelief and possibly suspicion.

A chill shoots up my spine as I look back through the passenger side window and into the forest. I feel as if Karma herself has just stepped on my grave. I slowly open the car door and step out, still holding the bowl, and shut it with a push of my shoulder.

I turn and face the forest, a sudden sense of uneasiness settling over me as I hear the driver side door open and close. As we walk into the forest the sense of uneasiness deepens to straight foreboding, as if the forest itself is warning us away from some grotesque and unseen evil, but still we push on. Judy starts to lag behind me.

We come to a blackened clearing in the trees and I step on a mound of dirt just as I hear the needle tink against the bottom of the bowl. My paws start to shake. The vileness that I feel in this clearing cannot be understated; it’s like walking into a room full of sewage and rot with the crisp clean smell of pine needles.

“Nick?” Judy asks, her voice hardening. “Why are we here?”

I start to take stock of the clearing, the mounds of dirt laid out in circles. I see seven circles of thirteen mounds with what would have been one large mound in the center, but was now a gaping hole in the ground. The ground itself is blackened along the edges of the circles; the power that had been wielded here had to have been enormous.

I take a step back off of the mound out of respect as I close my eyes and prepare to open my third eye, or true sight as some would call it. True sight lets you see things for what they really are. If you’re an evil bastard it'll show. It’ll cut through the most elaborate of fey designs that they use to walk among us. It’ll show you what a walking corpse of a vampire really looks like. But there is a down side: there is no amount of brain bleach or substances on the face of this planet that will ever let me forget what I see with my sight.

When I open my eyes, they glow a deep vibrant green. The landscape before me might as well have been a scene straight from the deepest dimension of hell. Souls of the fallen scream in agony as dark tendrils of corruption and rot wind their way across the ground and up the trees, strangling the life out of them. I take a quick count of the souls before falling to my knees, tears streaming down my face as I throw up into the bowl.

“Nick?” Judy asks; I feel her paw on my back.

“92 souls,” I croak, and throw up again. “Something big was summoned here…”

“Summoned?” I hear a hard bite added to her voice. I nod; it angers me, this perversion. The tortured souls are still screaming loudly in my ears; it will be a weight on my own soul that I shall carry for the rest of my days.

“Nick, where is Emmitt?”

I look to the small mound in front me. It's easily the smallest of all them, but he, or at least his body, is there.

“Nick, did you do this?” I hear the steel in her voice as her paw tightens on the back of my shirt.

I shake my head, not trusting my voice.

“Not good enough. Look at me Nick; if I'm going to put my neck on the line for you…” She starts.

My eyes snap open. “_ How dare you…” _It's all too much: the sickness of it all, the screaming of souls in my ears, and now, now she blames me? I know anger pours into my voice.

“Nick?” she asks; her paw suddenly pulls away as I slowly and deliberately stand.

My voice is low and threatening, bordering on a growl. “You’re worse than a rent-a-cop. You’re a wanna-be that jumps to conclusions before she has all the facts!” I glare down at her as she starts to back away. “This….” My lips pull back into a snarl as I toss the bowl of puke. It made a metallic ringing sound as it bounced off of a tree, and the air became putrid with the smell of it “This…perversion…isn’t what magic is for.” I sweep my paw to the field of mounds behind me. “It's not for the use of senseless killing, it's not for the torturing of souls just to gain power, it's not to bring something into this world that doesn't fucking belong here!” I walk past her and head for my car.

“Nick…wait.” I can hear the pain and loss in her voice. My anger starts to peter out.

I pause as I look over my shoulder at her. Her eyes are cast down as she rubs one of her shoulders with her paws. “I’m sorry…” she says, her voice just over a whisper.

I take a deep breath and let it out. I had originally thought of just leaving her out here, but that plan crumbles as I watch her world crumble with it. I watch as the weight of the reality of her loss starts to erode the fearlessness she's displayed up to this point. 

“Judy,” I say softly, the last of my anger now long spent. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Watching her break is like a punch in the gut. It's not pretty, it's not cute, and I can remember a day when that was me. “Why?” she asks between sobs and hiccups. “Why would anyone do anything like this?”

“I don't know,” I say honestly.

“He has a family, he’s kind, and…” She started to slump forward, and somehow I caught her. This wasn’t the Officer Hopps, the meter maid, the force of nature that had been thrust in my path since giving me a ticket months ago. “He was kind. He didn’t deserve this.”

“None of them did,” I say softly as I look back over the field. I shudder slightly as my mind overlays the peaceful landscape with the vision of screaming souls and corruption.

“I’m sorry,” she says shortly after her sobs die down. I can tell she's emotionally spent.

“Me too.”

I hear her sudden intake of breath and feel her tense. She doesn't pull away, but I can feel some of the steel return to her slowly. “Nick?”

“Mmmm,” I say as I look away from the field again.

“Will you help me find who did this?”

I look back out at the field. Half of the job I was originally hired to do had been done. I found Emmitt Otterton. His wife could bury him and he would be at rest. But the other part, finding the thing that was hunting her, that still needed to be done. Helping Carrots wouldn't necessarily mean finding the thing hunting Mrs. Otterton; hell more than likely I wouldn't even get paid for it. But this needs to be stopped. Will I help her?

"Yes. Yes, I will.”


	4. Chapter 3:

#  Chapter 3:

We ride back to the city in silence. I am actually amazed how far out we went. I'm not 100% sure of the distance, as the odometer on my car gave up long ago, but it's pretty far. Maybe Mr. Otterton really wanted to be found; or this is more of Karma’s doing. I have no idea and I have other questions that are weighing heavily on my mind.

Carrots sits in the passenger seat, her head against the window as she stares blankly at the dashboard. I had made the decision that she was in no shape to drive back in the forest. 

“We need to report it to the police,” she says, breaking the silence.

“I would prefer to tell Mrs. Otterton first,” I reply. “Telling the police would bring trouble onto us.”

“But they all deserve better than a shallow grave Nick!” she exclaims at me. “Emmitt deserves better.”

“I agree, they do; I'm sure they’ll be found by a hiker or something before long.” I glance over at her. I suspect they’ll be found before the day is out, but I don’t voice that to her. I mean, how do you say, _“__Hey,__ you know the legendary goddess Karma? Yeah, she's real and will make sure your godfather will be found by some hapless hiker.” _

“How can you be so sure?” she asks me.

I shrug. “It's the way of these things. But who would you rather your godmother hear it from, you or some hapless coworker of yours?”

I could feel her eyes on me. “I guess you're right. She should hear it from me.”

I nod as the city starts to form around us once again. 

“I get the feeling you don’t like cops much,” she says.

How do I explain to this rabbit about things that probably happened before she was even born? It's not like I blame them on her per se, but I have yet to see a cop act in a fashion that has raised their standing in my book. Most of them are little more than state paid thugs with a badge and a gun. “We all don't sit around a fire singing Kumbaya, Carrots,” I say attempting to deflect.

“No, no I guess we don’t.” She doesn’t press any further thankfully, taking the way out of that conversation that I offer her. “What do you think killed Emmett?”

I sigh. “He was killed to fuel a very powerful spell,” I explain. “The soul is one of the greatest forms of magical energy in existence. It can’t fully be destroyed no matter what happens.”

“Could he be brought back?” she asks. I can hear the edge of hope in her voice. I know exactly what she feels and why she is asking.

I tense; he could, but that would be necromancy, and there are few things that a wizard could do that would get him hunted down and killed faster than raising a dead mammal. “I’m sorry Judy; I’m many things but a god isn’t one of them,” I answer her. Besides, what would be brought back wouldn't necessarily be her godfather. The souls on that field were twisted and tortured. They needed to be laid to rest not tortured further by being brought back into the land of the living. That's not even considering whether or not their bodies could be made to support life again.

The rest of the drive to my parking garage passes in silence. I can see her nose twitching out of the corner of my eye as I pull into my parking space. My aging car seemingly lets out a mechanical groan as the ignition is turned off. I sigh quietly; at least it made it back to the city. The last time that I’d had to have it towed to my mechanic from the middle of nowhere it had cost me more than I wanted to think about. 

“Couldn’t we have driven to her building?” she asks. 

“Sorry Carrots, this way I won't get a parking ticket,” I say with a wink to her as we get out of the car.

I honestly can't help but smile at the glare she shoots me. It's like a cute angry ball of fluff with the stare of a pissed off tiger. We lock the doors of my car and start to walk out of the parking garage. Her demeanor is pretty quick to change; maybe my poking at her didn't really phase her that much?

“Nick, ummm…” she starts. I can see she's fighting to keep from wringing her paws nervously. “Will you go with me to…well, you know?”

“I will,” I simply say. This isn't my first time informing a loved one that I found a body. Hell, wouldn't even be the first time I've had to deal with the police over it. “Don’t they train you at the academy for this?” I ask.

She nods. “It’s a brief class; typically it's done by a shift supervisor or a district chief.”

My heart weighs a bit heavier for her. There’s really nothing I can say that will make this easier. We walk in silence from the parking garage to her godmother’s building. The sun has descended from his zenith and now the streets of the city are cast in shadows. I look up at the sky and its various painted hues of orange and blue. 

I notice as we enter the building that the wolves have been replaced with a rhino and a warthog. 

“Evenin’ Miss Hopps,” the rhino says respectfully to her. She nods at them and keeps on going; neither comment on my following her to the elevators. Perhaps they’ve been sparring partners of hers at one time or another as well. OR maybe the day shift warned them that I might come back; either way I decide it's better not to question it at the moment. 

“Do you think we can take the elevator?” she asks and I nod in acceptance. Besides, if we get stuck then we delay what’s about to happen. On the ride back up, the elevator flickered and groaned; in some way it mimicked the emotional feeling inside the car. When we stepped out the car let out an almost audible sigh as the door slid back shut. 

Maybe it was my imagination or maybe it was actually there, but there seemed to be a pall cast over the floor. I study the rabbit as we walk down the hall lit by electric lights. They would flicker every time I walked past. Her ears are laid down her back and she wrings her paws in front of her. 

We stop in front of Mrs.  Otterton’s door. I watch as her paw shakily presses the door bell button and wait. The bell itself can be faintly heard through the hard wood of the door. She briefly looks up at me. I give her what I hope is a comforting smile.

“ Good evening, Miss Hopps.” Fifi’s eyes narrow ever so slightly as they shift to me. “Mr. Wilde.” The way she  says my last name would be about the same way as someone  would  spit out sewage water. 

“ Fifi,” Fluff  greets her as I  remain quiet. “We need to talk to Olivia.” 

“ Certainly,” Fifi  says as she  stands back and  pulls the door open for us. Much to my surprise, she  doesn’t even try to shut it on my tail.

“ Fifi, who was…” Mrs. Otterton  starts as she  walks into the foyer. I watch her face fall; she knows she's about to get some bad news. “Not here in the front hall; come,”  she says as she turns  and walks deeper into the apartment. 

The apartment is vast and grand, everything that I would expect from a multi million dollar tycoon. The couch I  sit on  in her living room would probably pay the rent on my office for  seven or  eight months. It’s plush and arguably one of the most comfortable things I have sat on in…. Well, ever. Maybe if I had been a florist or followed my father and been a  magician I could have had nice things like this. 

My attention is pulled away from my comfortable seat when Mrs. Otterton  breaks the silence. “You found him?”  she asks, her voice cracking ever so  slightly .

Judy nodded and looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“ Where…. Where is he?”  she asks,  her voice cracking once more .

“ In a field east of here,” I answer as Judy  looks up at me. “The police will be contacting you in a day or so to identify the body.”

“ I…. see,” Mrs. Otterton  says softly. “I…” She cuts herself off and looks away; her shoulders lift slightly as she tries to keep her composure. “I suppose your want more pay Mr. Wilde?”  she asks.

“ No Ma’am, I haven’t worked through your generous retainer yet.”

“ I...I…” She swallows as she holds back the tears. “I need to be alone,”  she says as she stands up and leaves the room in a hurry. The mournful wail that  erupts from deeper in the apartment  tears at my heart. The slamming of a door  cuts off the rest. 

I hesitate slightly before placing a paw on Judy’s shoulder. She  breaks again, maybe even worse than out in the field. Her body is racked with her sobs as she turns and buries her face into my chest. I gently place my paw on her back, letting her cry it out. 

Losing a loved one is one of the worst things about our mortal lives. If truth be told, even the fey have a hard time when one of their own passes;  they’re supposed to be immortal,  but the old adage of “if it breathes it can die” holds true even for them.

I am honestly uncertain about her. She seems oddly okay with me seeing her this vulnerable; I don’t know if it’s because  she’s comfortable around me or if I'm just the closest mammal to her. Not that she doesn't have a right to feel the way she does at the moment; it's just odd. Not uncomfortable odd, just different I suppose.

I gently run my paw pad up and down her back as I look down at her. My paw covers most of her back and I carefully avoid her tear drop shaped tail. My grandfather would have my hide if I touched it without permission. 

Her crying slowly stops yet she doesn't pull away. I look up and out of the large floor to ceiling windows at the darkening sky. I can feel the disapproving eyes of Fifi on me but I don't care. If Judy is comfortable who am I to complain; I wonder if this is why Karma told me to be nicer to her. 

I’m not sure how long we  sit like this, but the sky darkened even more.  It’s at this time  that  my stomach  lets its needs be known with a somewhat angry growl,  which was mere seconds echoed by one of her own. It had been a busy and stressful day and neither of us had stopped to get a bite to eat since  the muffins this morning, and most of hers  had  ended up as a projectile to my face. 

“ So, ummm, how about we go grab a bite to eat?” I ask as I look out the window. I could feel her shift and tense slightly. She  pulls out her phone and  looks at the time.

“ Sweet cheese and crackers! Nick, I'm sorry, I would love to go to dinner but I'm late and really need to go,”  she says rapidly as she  slips away from me  and out the door . 

Needless to say she has the dash part of dine and dash down pat. Fifi glares at me from the corner and I know my time in the apartment is through. I sigh as I walk out of the apartment; for the first time since waking up this morning I am alone. The rabbit is gone; hell, I'm not even sure if she’s going to show back up in the morning or not. _Maybe she had a hot date that she was late to,_ I think to myself.

I eye the elevator and,  deciding not to risk getting stuck in it this late at night, take the stairs down. Judy was right; it was a lot of stairs I would hate to have to go up, but the trip down was uneventful enough. A part of me had hoped to take her to Finnick’s, but now the idea of eating  there alone sours my stomach. Maybe Karma was right, having a new friend would be nice. 

I step out of the building and onto the sidewalk the hustle and bustle of downtown,  which had now died to the almost early subdued nightlife. The traffic is still heavy, but  not  nearly like it is during the day. I decide to head home instead of having a steak sandwich at Finnick's, the expense suddenly not seeming worth it, and instead opt for another Chef Howlardee night.

My mind  reels as I think over the day.  You’d think, what with being Zootopia’s only wizard, finding a mass grave would be my bread and butter, but  it’s not; while I put on a stoic appearance, it sickens me. “ _ Never let them see that they get to you _ ,” my father once told me. He was a traveling stage magician  with  no real magic to his name.  Rejection and ridicule followed him throughout his days in  this mortal coil. 

As my mind reels over past and present, my paws chew up the distance from downtown to my humble abode. It almost seems like a lifetime ago that I’d left this, my fortress of solitude, to go out and face the day and the rabbit. My keys unlock the door and I step inside. I snap my fingers with just a small outpouring of my will and the fireplace and candles burst alight. 

I undo the knot of my tie and drape it over the back of the couch as I pass by to the food preparation area. It's not much really, just a piece of butcher block held up by some milk crates and  a  sink that's held up more by the plumbing than anything. I reach up blindly to a shelf over my head and grab a can at random. It doesn't really matter to me at the moment what it is, as I'm eating more to keep by body functional than for any real enjoyment. 

The snap of  pressure  equalizing and the grinding of the can opener can be heard in the room as I mindlessly open the can and dump the contents into one of the pots. I could have just as easily warmed my meal in the can with just a  small outpouring of my will, but there is solace in  the  mundane aspect of warming it over the fire. 

Then it hit me, literally in fact, as Karma smacked the dented silver bowl from earlier across the back of my skull: I fucked up.

“You stupid, stupid boy!” Karma admonishes me as I suddenly find myself pinned to the opposite wall, quite unable to move. “YOU are supposed to protect the bunny!” she fumes at me. “Just HOW were you planning on doing that from a JAIL CELL?!” 

It's an odd sensation, being smacked over your head and then flung across your hovel with nary a finger laid upon you. I honestly don't recommend you try it. I  can’t answer her,  since it’s all I can do to keep breathing; such is the power that  holds me to the wall.  Honestly, Darth Vader has little on Karma. I  can’t even feel the floor under my feet any more. I  can’t move,  seeing as how my face is pressed into the wall. 

“Do you know how hard it was for me to convince the responding officers that the bowl didn’t exist?” Karma growls as she stalks toward me. I swallow nervously and suddenly was let go. Ifall to the floor. 

“ What bowl?” I wheeze out. She  spins at that,  glaring at me, and suddenly my nose is pressed into the silver bowl  I’d used to cast the finding spell earlier. 

“ That bowl,”:  she growls as me. I'm not sure if she sees the sudden understanding in my eyes or not, but now I realize the gravity of my mistake. “What happened?”

I lay it out for her. Everything  from that morning forward, of Judy’s lack of belief then the wonder in her eyes as I opened her world. Of the fear that I might have murdered her  godfather along with 91 other mammals. Of the  rabbit’s trust in me as she let me see her at her most raw, and of my mild disappointment at being gently turned down for dinner. Why should I hide or try to?  It’s Karma; she's  omniscient, or near enough that it wouldn't matter on either paw. 

I can’t even look up at her as I lay the tale of the day at her feet. But slowly I feel her displeasure melt away, like a mother who found out her kit might not have screwed up as badly after all. “Perhaps I misjudged, Nicholas. You two haven’t had the best of starts, but  you’ve made progress.” Her pause  is long enough for me to lift my head to look up at her. The far away look on her face makes me think that  she’s looking at something that's not even in the room. “Be nicer to the bunny,”  she says cryptically before disappearing  from my life once again. This time though, instead of cherries the room is left smelling deliciously of steak. It takes me a moment to realize  that the pot of Chef Howlardee on the food preparation area has been replaced with a steak dinner with all the trimmings. But like all gifts from Karma this one came with a price: my cast iron pot  is now gone.

My granddad taught me many things about life and magic;  chief among those is never to look a gift steak in the mouth, especially if it is given to you by a deity.  It’s delicious  and  cooked just the way I like it: medium with just the right amount of char and garlic butter. The baked potato and mixed vegetables are just the icing on an already  mouthwatering cake.

I frown as I chew thoughtfully on my steak dinner. This is the second time that Karma has told me to be nicer  to  and protect the rabbit. Just what in the seven hells am I supposed to be protecting this rabbit from? I sigh; on top of that I need to start doing research into just what could have been brought into this world with a summoning spell that large.  Ninety-two mammals died to power that spell, and given the amount of rot I saw with my third eye  it’s not going to be nice. 

I look down at the plate and sigh, the meal was everything that the smell of it promised it would be. But now it was gone and I had questions, questions I’m pretty sure I'm not going to like the answer to. So like any sane mammal with a task in front of them that they dread, I procrastinate just a bit by doing the dishes. Unfortunately though, I have no pans to clean, just the one single solitary plate. 

I sigh as I walk over to  the coat rack by the door, the single solitary plate along with my fork and knife drying on the dish rack beside the sink. I slip on my pink fuzzy slippers and the thick warm robe and head back across the room  to pull back the carpets  hiding the trap door into my lab.

“ Well she didn’t kill you,” Ben’s sarcastic voice  says as soon as my paws touch the floor below.

“ No she didn’t kill me,” I say, snapping my fingers for the candles to light the room. 

“ So what did she want?” 

“ You’re telling me you didn’t listen in?” I ask him as I roll my eyes. “Mr. ‘You should ask Karma out on a  date’ ?” 

“ No way ; you see, I value what little life I have left,” Ben says to me. “If she even had an inkling that I listened in on what clearly should have been a private conversation I would be blasted to the four corners of the globe.”

I shake my head as I sit down at the bench and pull over my notepad and a pencil. “Remember how you asked me if  there’d been a big spike in missing mammals?” I ask as I draw the concentric rings that the graves  were laid out in. 

“ Yes, and?”

“ We found her godfather in a site today. Shallow grave with mammals laid out in rings from the largest mammal to the smallest.” I explain what I had seen as I drew. 

“ How many?”

“ Ninety-two, laid out like this,” I say as I hold up the notepad. I watch in astonishment as the blue lights in the cheetah skull wink out without a word. 

“ Ben?” I ask. 

“ No.” Ben's voice is firmer than I have ever heard it.

I sigh. “Ben please, I need to know what  I’m up against.”

“ Want my advice, then pack your shit and leave Zootopia. I hear Chicowgo is nice.”

“ You know I'm not leaving, so tell me what you know.” I swear if a skull could sigh this one  does .

“ Fine. I want something though.”

“ Ok, what?” I ask,  thinking that Judy probably doesn't have to make deals with Siri or Zoogle to find out what she wants.

“ Four nights out.” I  cough at this. “ On a long weekend.”

The last time  I’d let him out  he’d caused an orgy  at Zootopia University,  the likes of which some  of the  students never recovered from  academically .“One,” I counter. “You remember what happened the last time I let you out.”

“ Two,”  the skull countered.

“ One, and it will be a Friday.”

“Thirty hours,” he countered.

“ Twenty-five ,” I conceded.

“ Deal,”  the skull  agrees . “ Twenty-five hours of freedom for what I know about that summoning circle. 

“ Agreed,” I say as I flip the notepad to a clean sheet of paper and the blue lights flicked back on in the skull. 

“ It was during the 3rd century AD a warlock by the name of Lorenzo made a deal with a lesser demon. The demon was an intermediary between Lorenzo and a greater demon  who needed the warlock  to open a gateway.” Ben  pauses for a moment as if accessing additional information. “Lorenzo had been  led to believe that the greater demon held the soul of his wife who had died three years prior in childbirth. The agreement  was that Lorenzo  would  free the demon onto this plane in exchange for  his wife’s soul to be freed from eternal torment.” 

I nod as I make notes. “So Lorenzo freed this demon to save his wife?”

“ So he had been  led to believe,” Ben tells me. “The greater demon had been in contact with a succubus that had been called onto this plane by  a  fledgling wizard who  didn’t have a perfect summoning circle.”

“ Oh, great,” I say. When summoning things from the pits of hell,  it’s a contest of not only will but also skill; an imperfectly drawn or made summoning circle could very well be disastrous. 

“Right.” Ben pauses again. “I don’t know what deal was struck between the succubus and the greater demon; my Master at the time was more of the ‘banish first ask questions later’ kind. But what I do know is, the succubus not only ensured that Lorenzo found the true name of the intermediary demon, but also sent him dreams of his wife's torture.” 

“ So Lorenzo was driven mad?” I ask.

“ I guess in a way. Love is one of the greatest joys and curses of mammaldom; it will  not only  drive you to feats of extraordinary courage, but also extraordinary stupidity.” 

I choose to ignore Ben's commentary on love for the moment. “So what was the name of the demon that had been brought here?” 

“ My Master never found out the true name for the demon, but it was a hungry thing  that  inspired madness  wherever it roamed. Caused the fall of one of the greatest empires in mammaldom and drove the world into a dark age that took centuries to come out of.”

“How did your Master slay it?” I ask.

Ben  remains quiet for some time. “It required much sacrifice; he was hazy on the details but was never quite the same afterward. Nick, you should honestly run.”

A little while later I lay on my bed staring up at my ceiling; the only light in the room is the warm glow of the fire in the fireplace. I’m finding it hard to sleep; well, harder than normal. What could possibly have Ben so scared that he just turns off?  He’s a spirit, , kind of; he's  more like  a really complex spell cast on the skull to retain the collective knowledge of maybe hundreds of  wizards before me. Because of that  he’s extremely valuable;  in fact, he’s so valuable that half the wards on my home  are there to keep him a secret. 

I must have fallen asleep,  because the next thing I  know my eyes  are shooting open to a pounding seemingly in my chest. 

_THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD! _I hear the urgent pounding, and realize that it’s not in my chest but on my door.

I groan and roll over. “Who is that rapping, rapping on my chamber door at this ungodly hour?” I ask into the room as I stand. The creaking and popping of my joints  let me know that while  I’d slept, it probably wasn't the best of sleep. 

“ If  it’s some damnable raven I swear I’ll burn it to a crisp” I mutter as  I pull open my door; after all, nothing good has ever come from a raven. Two small grey bundles tumble in as soon as the door swings open and a roar shakes the alleyway between my apartment building. 

“ HELP!” It takes me a moment to place the voice as, I hate to admit it, I'm not the fastest on the uptake  upon  being woken so abruptly.

“Ju…” I start, but am interrupted abruptly. 

“ Wizard…” Seethed a voice boiling with hatred and malice. “Send out those with which I seek; my quarrel is not with thee.”

My eyes narrow as I turn toward the door. I can hear the creaking of brick and the unholy cracking of bone, which  tells me  that  whatever  is out there is changing shape and I’m running out of time to formulate a plan. 

I reach behind my door and grab my staff. It’s carved from  the gnarled branch of an oak tree on my grandfather's farm. It took me years to slowly and painstakingly carve all the runes on it under my grandfather's guidance. The staff in anyone else's paws would only be useful as a club, but in my paws? It amplifies my magic while also making it more controllable. It’s like adding a guidance system to a bomb. 

I step out of my apartment and up the short flight of stairs  that’s flanked on one side by the large metal garbage dumpsters. I turn toward the nose and thump the end of my staff hard against the concrete between the buildings and eye the monstrosity trying to shove its way down the alley.

My eyes widen in shock. IT is some form of bull, if a bull could be almost two stories tall and as wide as the alleyway at its shoulders.  It’s shrinking slowly, and I am grateful to see somewhat painfully, as it bellows  once again at me. “GIVE THEM TO ME!” 

“ And if I don't?” I ask.

“THEN I SHALL FEAST ON YOUR ENTRAILS AND SUCK THE MARROW FROM YOUR BONES!” it bellows at me as its body seems to pop into the size dimensions that it had in mind. Now instead of almost two stories it stands just over 12 feet tall. Its horns, if you could call them that, jut forward from its skull and drip with a blood red substance. 

I stare at the thing, seemingly considering its offer; its hide  is  darker than the blackness of space, blotting out even the meager  light cast by the street lights shining into the alleyway. Its eyes burn with the fires of hell. 

“ They are my guests,” I say simply, as there are rules by which even this thing must abide. “They have come to my door  seeking my aide and I have granted it; now be gone.” 

“ FOOL!”  it bellows at me just before  charging down the alley. 

I draw upon my will, summoning magic from the air around me.  As I concentrate, the runes carved into my staff light up an eerie blue as I swing my staff up and back down once again. “RIFLETTUM!” I shout as my staff meets the concrete once again and a blue shield spans the width of the alleyway.

The bull thing smashes into my shield, and in my haste I have forgotten to anchor the shield to something other than myself. While I don’t get splattered into a foxy paste in the alleyway, I am sent tumbling several feet back, and suddenly I wish I had actually  taken the time to grab a shirt. I shake my head as I stare up at the sky. My shield dissipates almost instantly, but it has stopped the thing in its tracks. 

I can hear and feel its foot falls as it slowly walks toward me. “FOOLISH WIZARD, I SHALL MAKE YOU WATCH….”  it seethes at me as it stalks ever closer. 

I roll to my knees, my head clearing as I remember where  I am and what I’m doing. I point the head of my staff at the bull thing as it starts to laugh at me. “FOOLISH…” It never got the chance to finish its sentence as I draw once again on the magic around me and funnel in some of the pain and fear that I feel into the spell as well. “FORZARE!” I shout, channeling the spell through my staff. The runes on it flare brilliantly white for a moment before the spell is released. 

The concentrated and directed force of the spell ejects the bull thing  straight out of the alleyway and into the side of a parked car. The car itself folds in around the impact of the monstrosity in a shower of glass and stressed metal. The car alarm starts to shriek for just a moment before shorting out from magic overload. 

I grin, as the thing doesn't seem to be inclined to get up right away. I stand and start to walk down the alleyway toward it,  the sound of  my staff clicking on the pavement seemingly marking time as I go. The car starts to shudder and shake as the bull monstrosity starts to stand with the crumpled car still attached to its back. The sky  was  lightning with the coming of the dawn. If a glare could kill I would be a grease stain on the concrete. 

“ THIS IS NOT OVER YET WIZARD!”  the bull thing bellows at me before  turning into a flock of bats and  flying away. I watch the bats warily, but  its retreat tells me something. It fears the sun.

I turn when the swarm of bats is well gone and walk back toward my apartment. My feet drag a bit; that blast of magic took a lot out of me. My stomach rumbles as I descend the stairs. My guests must  have shut the door after I went to face whatever that was. I place my paw on the doorknob and  find it locked. 

I knock lightly on the door and  can hear scurrying beyond it. “Nick?” I hear Judy’s voice from inside my apartment. 

“ Yeah  it’s me; unlock the door please,” I tell her, and a moment later I hear the door unlatch. 

“ Nick!”  she exclaims at me as I walk in, letting go of my staff and  allowing  it  to clatter against the wall. “Just what in  fluff’s name was that!?!” 

B one weary tired, I stumble over and collapse onto the couch in front of the fireplace. “I don't know.”

She paces between the couch and the fireplace. “I shot it, I fluffin’ shot it, and it laughed at me!” 

My weariness comes  mostly from  my  lack of magic use.  These days I  mostly cast simple finding spells, as the need to use combat magic is all but gone. Maybe  that’s changed. My eyes are shut as I lean my head back against the couch. “I hit it hard,” I tell her. “It fled with the coming dawn; it doesn't like sunlight.”

There’s a long pause before she asks me, “How hard?” 

“ I knocked it into a car,” I answer wearily,  not opening my eyes . My body shakes much like a long distance runner at the end of a race. I don’t know if she notices this,  and I'm not even sure if I care.  _ Curses Karma why did you throw this rabbit in my path? _ I ask myself. 

“Mama?” I hear a new voice, young and full of something; not fear but something that’s hard to place. “Why is he in his underwear?”

That's the other thing I forgot: pants.

  



	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks goes to lilwashu76 my editor who is worth at least her weight in gold. She worked tirelessly so I could post this today.
> 
> Thank You!

# Chapter 4

I crack an eye open at the word Mama. _I guess she didn’t have a hot date after all_, I muse to myself.

“NICK!” Judy exclaims at me after her tirade about shooting the monster now that she notices I'm sans pants. “Just where are your pants?”

“Ugh, not so loud Carrots,” I tell her. “You’re the one that pounded on my door for help. Speaking of which, just how did you find me?” 

I open my eyes as the silence gets a little uncomfortable. There she stands in front of my fireplace. She is dressed in sweatpants and a loose fitting ZPD t-shirt. Her nose is twitching rapidly as she searches for an answer. The fact that she doesn’t answer right away tells me all I need to know. Karma more than likely pointed her in my direction.

“It… I….” I watch as she stumbles and searches for words. “I heard something downstairs. I knew it wasn’t Cotton since she was asleep beside me. When I shot it and it laughed, something told me to run. So I grabbed my daughter and ran. We don’t live far away, and something told me that there was help here.”

“He…. he said my name in a weird way.” My ears perk up and I look over to the arm of the couch farthest from me. I see a bunny peeking over the arm of the couch at me; she has brown eyes and silvery light grey almost white fur. Her ears are standing up right.

“Weird how?” I ask.

“Kinda like Mama does when I'm in trouble,” she answers.

Our names have power, especially with all the proper inflections spoken exactly how our mothers intended. I know you can do a lot with someone's true name. It’s how I have on occasion gotten a member of the fey race to do me a small favor or two, or how warlocks consort with hellspawn. 

“Was it exactly how your mother says it?” I ask.

She looks thoughtful for a moment then shakes her head. “Not exactly.”

I huff a sigh of relief. I swallow as I stand up and head for the bathroom, grabbing my pants as I pass by the bed.

“I didn’t hear anything.” Judy says and I pause for a moment. If she didn't hear anything then it knew enough of Cottons name to speak to her telepathically. Not good, someone close to them must have given the thing her name.

“Please make yourself at home,” I say quietly. “I may not have much but you’re welcome to whatever food or drink I do have.” I snap my fingers, lighting the candles around the room just before stepping into the bathroom.

“Whoa….” I hear Cotton say. 

I stand for a while looking at myself in the mirror. I’m in over my head and I know it. That thing, that monstrosity, would have shrugged off being thrown into a car if not for the coming of dawn. It’s been years since I’ve done any real training in combat magic. I used to be able to throw a mean fireball but these days? Not so much. But Karma wouldn’t have put them in my path if I couldn’t help them. 

I finally break away from the mirror and reach over to turn on the hot water, mostly out of stubbornness. The cold stream chills me and I rest my head against the wall of the shower. I yelp a moment later when the water suddenly goes hot and I scramble to cool it down a bit.

“Nick, you okay in there?” Judy calls from outside the bathroom. 

“Yeah….” I look at the water for a moment. “I’m good.” My spirits lighten just a bit. Maybe, just maybe, Karma is smiling upon me. I decide not to take hot water for granted and hurry up and shampoo and rinse out my fur. I try to put out of my mind how bad Karma might kick me later for my turn of good fortune. 

I sigh, thinking that I really should consult Ben, but I can’t do that with guests. I haven’t been on the best of terms with Judy for very long and would prefer to keep some of my secrets. Maybe her home will have clues about what we’re facing?

I drape my towel around my neck as I step out of the bathroom, this time wearing pants. I am greeted by the smell of freshly made pancakes and giggles of happiness. Seems Judy and her daughter have taken advantage of my hospitality and raided my icebox. (It’s a real icebox, by the way; a polar bear delivers a cube of ice every Friday night.) Not that I mind; I wouldn’t have made the offer if I wasn’t sincere. Besides, my grandfather would have my hide if I wasn’t a good host. 

I pause, not because of the pancakes but because of the giggles from the rabbits. Laughter and happiness have been absent from my home. I brood and read here; it’s my fortress of solitude. I mean, who would want to make a life with a wizard? I shake my head and walk over to the elephant sized dresser and pull open the middle drawer, rummaging around a bit before finally finding a clean shirt. 

I felt a tug on my shirt tail and I look down into the brown eyes of Judy's daughter. _Cotton_, I remind myself, _her name is Cotton_. “Here are some pancakes Mr. Nick!” she said to me exuberantly. I smile as I take the plate from her and look up into the watchful eyes of Judy. She eyes me warily. Wary might not be the right word for the look in her eyes; cautious maybe.

I sit down on my couch and pick up the fork. The pancakes are surprisingly moist evidently made by a well practiced paw. My fork cuts a bite sized portion out easily enough and I pop it into my mouth. My god, she even put some of the blueberries in them that I’d picked up earlier this week. My eyes close as I chew slowly. She’d probably used a good portion of my sparce pantry on that meal but it was heavenly. 

“So they pass muster?” I hear her ask. 

I open my eyes to a smug looking rabbit. Usually I only see that kind of smug on foxes, but the level she displays at that moment is pure unadulterated smug. “These are the best pancakes I have ever had,” I answer after I swallow my bite.

She laughs at that. “Well, considering you seem content to live on Chef Howlardee, I will take that under advisement.”

I grin at her and tell her. “Hey, I’m a busy wizard, experiments to perform and what not; I value expediency over quality.” 

Judy shook her head. “Well, you must conduct your experiments elsewhere.” 

I shrug as I pop another bite of deliciousness in my mouth. 

“You’re a wizard?” Cotton asks me.

“Yes, yes I am.”

“Can you pull me out of a hat?” she asks. 

Judy rolls her eyes at her daughter. “He said wizard, not magician.” 

Could I pull her out of a hat? No, no I could not….. Well, maybe. The more I think about it the more I believe that it might technically be possible, with pocket dimensions and a few other spells.. “No,” I answer hoping to dissuade the young bunny from asking me to try it. “I can’t pull you out of a hat. That's just smoke and mirrors, or sleight of paw.”

“What's the difference?” Cotton asks me, and I look to Judy, who smiles at me.

“Cotton, why don’t you let Mr. Nick finish his pancakes and then he can show you,” Judy tells her daughter kindly.

“Aww, ok…”

I smile my thanks at Judy as I dig into the delicious breakfast that she made. It’s an odd feeling, having someone feed me in my own home. They’re my guests, but a part of me didn’t expect it. The kindness shown in that one small gesture goes farther than I really care to admit to alleviate all the “hey fox’s” I have endured over the weeks. I mean, she went out of her way yesterday to show me that she wasn’t speciest so I wonder what that was really all about. Maybe it didn’t have anything to do with me at all. 

I watch out of the corner of my eye as they sit quietly and watch me eat. Judy is sitting in the arm chair and is calm as she watches the flames dance in the fireplace and Cotton sits drowsily in her lap. 

“Hey Nick, can I use your bathroom?” Judy asks, breaking the silence. 

“Yeah sure, it's the only other door in the place.” I answer her.

I chew on the last of my pancakes as Judy gets up and sits Cotton down on the chair. “Behave,” she tells the younger bunny. 

Cotton looks over at me as I finish my breakfast and stand up to clean up the plates. 

“Mr. Nick, are you poor?” she asks me.

I pause and look at her. “Not really, why do you ask?”

“Because your electricity,” she says each syllable of electricity as if she is sounding it out, “doesn’t work and you cook on a fire like you’re camping.”

“My work doesn't pay much,” I tell her as I wash the plates and mixing bowl in the sink. 

“What does a wizard do?” she asks me. 

It takes me a moment to come up with an answer. “I guess I help people,” I tell her.

“Like Mama?” 

“Kind of, I guess.” 

“You must be brave then. Mama is brave, and she can punch out a rhinoceros.” She again pronounces rhinoceros very carefully. 

I pause briefly in washing the dishes. “Really?” I ask.

“Huh-huh. She’s the bestest cop ever. She graduated vala…vala…” She stumbles as she tries to remember how to pronounce valedictorian.

“Valedictorian?” I offer.

“Yeah!” She goes quiet for a moment. “Will you help Mama?” 

That gave me pause for a moment. It was the way she worded the request; not help me or help us, but help her mom. “I will do my best,” I answer.

I hear the bathroom door open just as I finish the dishes.

“She didn’t talk your ears off did she?” she asks, and I smile at that. 

“No,” I answer with a genuine smile, “she did not. Come on lets get you guys home so we can start the day.”

The look on Judy’s face suddenly becomes one of pure embarrassment. “Nick…. You wouldn't happen to have anything we could borrow to, ummm, wear?” 

I pause and look down at her. I seriously doubt that any of my shirts would fit her, let alone her smaller daughter. “I don’t think any of my clothes would fit either of you.”

“Oh sweet sassafras…” she mumbles, and looks away. I can see her working up the courage needed to make the trip.

“_Be nicer to the bunny,”_ I hear Karma in my ear; it’s loud enough that I give a glance over my shoulder just to make sure she hasn’t appeared behind me.”

“Maybe...” Judy starts.

“I cannot magic you up clothes,” I see her deflate just a bit. “But I can make it so you won't be noticed.”

Her eyes light up and she looks up at me. “Really?” she asks; I can hear skepticism in her voice.

I nod. “As long as you don’t draw attention to yourself it will work.” 

“Meaning what?” Judy asks.

I sigh. “I can cast a spell where you could walk by your own mother and as long as you didn’t draw her attention verbally she wouldn't notice you dancing the hula,” I answer. “But I’ll need to go with you to power the spell.”

The spell I cast on us as we walk out of my door is fairly simple. It's not camouflage per say. It’s more like a veil; it keeps mammals from seeing what they don't want to see. But it’s draining; I can feel my energy reserves fading the longer I have to keep it up and it gets even worse with more mammals around us. 

There are flashing red and blue lights from where the police are obviously still working out how a medium sized mammal’s car ended up bent like a horseshoe with no discernible cause. Judy looks up at me with a look in her eyes. I’m not sure if she’s impressed or scared of me. Honestly I'm not sure which she should be either. 

We are just a block away from my home when the most surprising thing happens during the walk to the rabbits’ home. Cotton reaches up and takes hold of the little finger on my right paw. It's an odd sensation, (not unpleasant mind you but odd) having someone’s trust that quickly. Judy doesn’t seem to mind if she notices at all; her ears and nose are twitching nervously the farther away from my place we get. 

I start to suspect something is wrong as we near their plaice. Police are blocking off a street and there is a sizable crowd of mammals. There is a faint murmur in the air and I catch someone whisper that it looks like a bomb went off. We slip past the police and head down the street. 

The neighborhood is nice, much nicer than mine; it must have felt like they were majorly slumming it when they appeared on my doorstep this morning. The street is lined on both sides by rows of nicely painted townhouses. Which made the mess in the middle of the street seem terribly out of place. Litter and parts of a house lay strewn about the place. Scraps of cloth and paperwork flutter in the wind. Honestly the mammal down the street was right, it had looked like a bomb had blown up one of the townhouses. I have a sinking suspicion in my gut whose house it was as well. 

Judy responds the way I think any parent with a kit to take care of who suddenly finds themselves homeless: she starts to cry. I can't blame her; looking at the destruction of your home is an overwhelming prospect. It’s a nice neighborhood; I'm sure rent or a mortgage here is not cheap, let alone in a booming real estate market. She gathers Cotton up in her arms as she sobs. Cotton just blinks at the place where her home once stood before she herself starts to cry.

The sobs must have been enough to break the veil as the next thing I know there is a great bellow of, “WHO THE HELL LET THESE CIVILIANS INTO THIS CRIME SCENE?” I turn, partially expecting to see the demon thing from this morning staring me in the face, but instead it’s the looming angry visage of the Chief of Police himself, Chief Bogo. 

I shrug and look to Judy and Cotton just before I hear. “GET ON THE GROUND!” followed very closely by, “Stop resisting!” as I look around confused. The next thing I feel is twin pinches in my back followed by what can only be described as the sting of a thousand bees as my body goes rigid and I collapse face first onto the concrete. 

“MR. NICK!” Cotton screams, and I vaguely hear a sudden pop followed closely by some cursing. But I can’t look around or do much of anything, as I have been rendered helpless. There’s a sudden weight in the center of my back and I am fighting just as hard as when Karma held me to the wall to even draw breath. My paws are drawn behind my back and I am paw cuffed.

I must have blacked out, for when I come to there is an aardvark EMT standing over me and a nervous looking Cotton to one side. “Mr. Nick, you’re awake!” she exclaims as I move to sit up. I feel like I’ve been hit by a freight train; my body hurts and my head is pounding as if it’s being used as the kick drum in a metal concert. 

Carrots is off to the side with Chief Bogo and what looks like a young warthog officer. I can’t tell who looks angrier, Judy or the Cape buffalo. But my wrists are no longer cuffed and I’m not even cuffed to the gurney so I’m probably not being charged with anything. 

“Mr. Wilde, I must insist that you go to the hospital for a check up…” the EMT starts.

“No hospitals,” I reply, almost out of habit more than anything. Can you imagine the havoc I would cause in one with all the sensitive electronics in there? I put the thought out of my mind; the last thing I want to be is responsible for is someone's loved one dying because I blew up their life support system just by being wheeled by the room. 

“Fine, but if you feel light headed or have any strange heart palpitations please go get seen in the ER,” the EMT tells me as I stand up. 

I turn my attention more fully to the house, or more accurately what is left of it. Most of the front wall is blown out and strewn across the front lawn and street. There is one room sized exception on the front wall that is still intact. Debris is littered here and there. I really want to get a closer look at the destruction, but there are police mammals everywhere combing through the debris looking for clues. 

“Cotton, whose room is that?” I ask, pointing to the still intact section of wall. 

She looks up at the second floor and smiles. “It’s my room!” 

I look back up at it and glance around again. Currently Chief Buffalo Butt and Judy are still giving the warthog officer the ass reaming of the decade. I hear words like lawsuit, parking duty, and Tundra Town thrown around often. I eye the officer and try to see more than a thug with a badge and a gun, but truthfully it's rather hard. 

The fact that Cotton’s room is seemingly intact speaks volumes to me. I don’t believe that this is random; they were targeted, and by someone that is or was close to them. I take a glance back over at Judy, specifically her left paw, and do not see any indication of a wedding band. I could ask Cotton, but that seems like a rather callus thing to do; I’ll have to ask Judy about it.

I close my eyes, mentally preparing myself to look at the wreckage of the house with my wizard sight. What I see when I open my eyes is hard to explain. I can see the ghosted image of what the house looked like before it was made into a disaster set location, but it's twisted and warped with something; tinged if you will. I close my sight before I glance at any of the mammals on the scene; the last thing I want is to look at some hapless tech that is harboring some deep dark secret or emotional hurt. 

Judy walks over to us at that moment, pulling me out of my thoughts about what I had just seen.

“I’m so sorry Nick…” she starts. 

“It’s fine, you didn’t do anything,” I say to her, still eyeing the house. “Do you know if they’re going to let you salvage anything soon?” I ask, changing the subject.

Judy nods, drawing my attention away from the mysteries of the house and down to her. “It shouldn’t be too much longer. I’ll get Cotton’s things and then see what's salvageable for myself.” Her ears fell as she said that and looked toward her daughter then back to the house. “I’m not sure where we’re going to stay tonight. That…..that thing could come back.” 

I look back toward her house. I have warded my building for just this reason. My home is in the basement, the very foundations of the place, but something could always try to enter from the floors above mine. Score one for being paranoid I suppose. 

“We could go stay with Gramma Olivia….” Cotton suggests, trying to help her mother.

I sigh. I can’t turn them out onto the streets, and if I have a read of Judy right she will not feel right about placing her godmother in jeopardy. “You can always stay with me if you’d like,” I offer. 

Judy looks up. “We… I couldn’t impose like that Nick….”

“Nonsense, you’re both small; probably wouldn't even take up an entire drawer,” I snark at her with a warm smile. “Besides, you’re not imposing, I'm offering; there is a difference.” Also a difference under the laws that govern the supernatural. As my guests they would fall under my protection, and while I may think my home is a hovel,, it is my hovel damn it, so the hearth ward is very strong.

The hearth ward acts as a magical threshold. It becomes stronger with three things: one, how much a mammal believes that what lies beyond the doorway is their home. Two, with how much time they have invested in the place. While my place may not look like much, I have spent a lot of time there with my lab being in the sub basement. And three, well, three depends on how many mammals live there and feel the place is their home. Now I don’t expect them to think of my home as their home, but it would still protect them. 

I look down at her once again. Her nose is twitching and her eyes are huge, I feel as if she is weighing my worth, weighing my words. I have no idea how I'm going to take that thing down, but these rabbits have been thrust into my path for some reason. I can see her strength but at the same time I can see her fear, not just for herself but for her daughter, and perhaps for me as well. 

“It’ll be like camping!” Cotton exclaims. “Oh, oh, oh, Mr. Nick can we do smores?” she asks before carrying on. “Mama and I do smores when we camp out on the farm. They are so delicious with gooey marshmallow and chocolate! Can we stay with Mr. Nick Mama, pwease?” 

Judy looks from me to her daughter and then back to me. Cotton’s eyes are the size of saucer plates; I swear it’s weaponized cuteness on an industrial scale that nearly melts even my cold cynical heart. I decide to add just a bit more fuel to the fire. “If it helps any Fluff, I insist that you stay with me.” I shoot her a wink and add, “Besides, she wants smores,” as I nod toward Cotton.

“Nick, you only have one bed in your place.” 

“That you and Cotton can share. I’ve slept on my couch before; it's not that bad.” 

“Pwease?” Cotton asks, her eyes now getting a little glossy.

Judy’s right foot thumps rapidly before she huffs,Fine…” She turns her gaze to me kind of side eyed and smiles. “Thank you, Nick.” 

“You’re welcome,” I said a little more kindly than even I expected. 

Twenty minutes later we are allowed into the wreckage. One of Judy’s coworkers watches Cotton, as the place isn't overly safe. I look around as Carrots gathers up stuff. Honestly, there isn't much left, and the fact that the building is standing at all is either a testament to how well built the place was or how sloppy the bull thing truly was, I'm honestly not sure which. I’m looking for clues that might point us in the direction of where this thing came from. 

There are rents in the floor and walls where claws the size of my forearm have clearly torn away at the wood floor or the drywall. Glass and other debris is strewn everywhere; bits of cloth that could have been the drapes or clothes blow in the breeze. There really isn’t much of anything in this house that hasn't been destroyed. 

The sole exception is the second bedroom on the second floor; it’s pristine. There is a little pink bed that is still made. A book lays on the bed, still open to the point where the reader was last reading it. Judy bustles about the room packing clothes, toys, and books into a rolling suitcase. The rest of the second floor is just as bad as the first floor. There are even chunks of porcelain missing from the toilet. 

I step into what had to be the master bedroom. If there is any room in this house that is worse than the rest it’s this one. The bed looks like it’s been destroyed by a bomb; not a single scrap of clothing is in usable condition. 

I take a deep breath and open my wizard sight. Black tendrils of hate curl and snake through the room. I try to trace them back to their source, but it’s like tracing a plate of spaghetti. I give up and revert back to my normal sight, being careful as I look around. 

The walls, or what's left of them, are painted a light soothing blue. There is obvious care in what remained of the hardwood flooring. I don't even bother glancing into the master bathroom, as I'm pretty sure that it’s in the same condition as the second bath. 

My right paw crunches on something and I look down. There’s a picture of Judy and Cotton in what's left of a frame. I pick it up and fish the picture out, only to find that it had been folded. Cotton is a baby in the photo, but there is no mistaking the little bundled bunny as her. The photo also contained a male. They look happy in the photo, but the fold line is telling; something soured this relationship horribly, but the photo meant enough that Judy kept it. 

“Ok, Nick I think I have everything that’s critical. Unfortunately it looks like all my stuff was destroyed,” Judy says as she comes out of Cotton’s room. 

“Who's this guy?” I ask, turning the picture around. The reaction is immediate: her eyes harden and her lips pressed together in a tight line. The paw not holding the suitcase balls in a fist. 

“A liar and a cheat,” she answers tersely. “The only good thing that ever came from Craig Furgonson is Cotton.” She looks up at me as I look at the picture thoughtfully. “You don’t think he's involved in this do you?” 

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly as I mull it over. My gut says yes, but there’s something not quite right about it. A father would more than likely know how to say a child's name with all the correct inflections, so maybe it's not him. 

“We should get Cotton to day care,” Judy says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Did you find anything else here?”

“No,” I answer truthfully. “The site is too; disturbed nothing here is the same way as it was left.” 

Judy shakes her head sadly and heads down the stairs. “I had hoped.” 

I shrug as I pocket the photo and follow her. “I might have if the police hadn’t had their paws all over everything. It disturbs the energy flow and when things are removed it removes context.” 

“Makes sense,” Judy answers. “It’s the same reason CSI photo documents everything before it's removed.” She pauses for a moment. “Would photos help?” 

While photos are awesome they only capture one spectrum of what’s going on. Many times in situations like this there is more to it than what’s visible to the naked eye. “No, they don’t capture all the information that I need,” I answer. 

Judy’s nods and looks thoughtful. “So the photos would be missing the magical stuff? Kinda like missing the infrared data for heat or something?” she asks.

I nod, as there really isn't any good way I could explain it to her. There is a spell I can use to “share” my wizard sight but that’s supposed to be limited to apprentices that have been prepared for what they might see. While Judy is surprisingly strong both physically and emotionally, she just doesn’t have the spark to wield magic and I could get in a lot of trouble with the White Council for casting that on her.

I can feel eyes on me as we step out of the wreckage of the house and onto the front lawn once again. The street has been cleared and it looks like the police are getting ready to head out. My eyes track over the officers and other mammals and finally land on Chief Bogo. 

Chief Bogo and I do not have what one would call a good working relationship. It might have something to do with him choosing brawn over brains for the officers of his precinct. Precinct One is supposed to get the best and the brightest that the Police Academy has to offer, but from my observation his main criteria of selection has been intimidation factor over anything else.

I glance at the rabbit in front of me then back to Chief Bogo, weighing what Clawhauser had told me the day before. Maybe Carrots and I are not so different after all. His eyes seemingly bore into me; I'm not sure if it’s an intimidation tactic or what. But after facing the bull thing this morning, he's not so intimidating. _Sorry Chief, I have seen __things much__ scarier than you._ This thought causes a rather smug smirk to spread across my face. 

I don’t think he likes that much as he calls Carrots over. “Hopps, a moment of your time,” came his gruff call. I can only imagine what he’s telling her as Cotton is escorted over to me by a tiger officer. I have seen this officer before during the times I’ve stepped into Precinct One to file my 10-100, but have never had any real interaction. Well, unless by “interactions” you mean snide comments and sneers. Private investigators are already looked down upon pretty harshly by law enforcement add “wizard” onto that and you have yourself the recipe for some pretty hard schoolyard bullying. Not that any of Chief Bogo’s officers would do that. 

But given the culture of systematic discrimination that his department has shown maybe it’s no wonder that Judy had always called “hey fox” at me on the street. I mean, that is bound to wear off onto a mammal, right? 

Cotton reaches up and takes hold of the little finger of my right paw once again and I look up at the tiger officer. She’s on the larger side of what her species is known for. Her orange and black fur is neatly groomed and her uniform pressed to perfection. When I say perfection, I mean if I wasn't careful I could probably cut myself on the starched creases of her uniform. Her gleaming name tag above the right breast pocket of her uniform said Fangmeyer. 

“Cotton tells me that they’ll be staying with you,” Fangmeyer says to me, straight to the point. It’s not the way one would expect a conversation to start, but it's better than a taser I suppose. 

I shrug it off. “They’re in need and I happen to have space for a friend.”

She huffs at that and her head tilts to the side as she regards me. “You wouldn’t happen to know what happened here would you?” 

I look over at the house then back to her and shrug. “Pressure build up in the gas line or raging monster, take your pick.” 

She shakes her head at that and her lip curls up into a snarl. “I don't know what lies you've been feeding them, but I'm onto you.” She starts to bend down to get into my face. “Hopps may be only a meter maid, but…..”

I raise my eyebrow at that then smirk at her as the radio clipped to her belt with a pawset clipped to the shoulder of her uniform pops and the magic blue smoke wafts out. It must have shocked her as it let go, because the yowl she let out was somewhat amusing. I can't help but chuckle as she throws it on the ground and backs away from it like it was some live snake ready to bite her again.

“FANGMEYER!” Bogo bellows as Judy walks over to us. 

“Come on, let's get out of here,” Judy says; her body language is a little more deflated than when we left the ruins of her home. I'm not sure if its destruction is catching up with her or if Bogo had something to say to her that deflated her a bit. 

Cotton squeezes my finger and I look down at her. “So can we have smores tonight Mr. Nick?” 

“Sure,” I answer truthfully and she beams at me. 

About an hour later I'm waiting outside a fairly upscale daycare called Horizons Education Center. The building has painted rainbow columns and multicolored playground equipment outside. A fairly bored looking graying lion in a security guard uniform leans against a column trying not to look like he is watching me as he watches me. 

I wonder if Judy’s bull demon thing could be the same thing hunting Mrs. Otterton. It’s possible, but Mrs. Otteron told me that they had started to feel hunted even before Mr. Otterton disappeared. I wonder how long it’s been from the time the first victim disappeared until we found the mass grave the day before. I doubt they were killed right away; while the soul is strong it doesn't stick around that long, and definitely not long enough to power a huge complicated spell over a series of weeks. I feel like there is something I'm not being told, either by Karma or Judy, and for some reason I feel like the male rabbit in the picture is a clue.

Judy comes out a few minutes later looking even more apprehensive than when she went in. “Nick,” she says, looking to the side before she looks up at me. “We need to talk.” She sighed and looked away again. “About Craig.”


	6. Chapter 5

# Chapter 5

I look down at her. She looks beaten and tired, like she’d love to curl up in bed and go to sleep for a week. I sigh; while I would love to have answers, I'm not sure running her through the emotional wringer will do her any good. “You don’t have to tell me anything.”

She looks up at me. “No, I need to talk about this.” She looks over her shoulder and adds, “Just not here.” 

“We passed by a Snarlbucks; I know I could use a cup of coffee,” I tell her as she nods.

As we walk down the sidewalk toward the coffee shop, I realize just how poor the rabbit beside me is. She's wearing old University of Zootopia sweatpants and a rather thread bare Zootopia Police Academy t-shirt. As I think back on it, I'm not even sure she’d gotten her wallet out of the house let alone anything else. While I'm sure she has money in the bank she more than likely has no ID so no way to access it, and it will take weeks if not months for the city bureaucracy to get her an ID. My ears splay back a little bit as it hits me: this rabbit is poorer than me. 

Granted she could go to her godmother and ask for help, but she doesn't seem the kind to ask. I had to insist that she stay with me to accept my help. Cotton at least still has her clothes and possessions, but Judy? I glance down at her; her ears are down her back and she's looking more toward the sidewalk then straight ahead. 

I hold the Snarlbucks door open for her and ask, “What would you like to drink?”

“I’m good…” she starts. 

“I bet you’d like a caralatte,” I say as I walk over to the barista.

“Nick, you…” she starts as she walks after me.

I smile at the barista and read off of the name tag on the female coyote’s shirt. “Good morning Candice. I would like one blueberry triple shot latte and one caralatte; easy on the espresso, since it’s for a rabbit.”

Candice smiles at me as she eyes Judy, I'm not sure how it looks at the moment but judging by the look on her face it couldn't be the best picture presented. “Certainly, and what is your name?” she asks.

“Nick,” I answer. 

“That will be $8.93,” she says, and I paw over a 10 out of my wallet. I look briefly at the little bit of cash in it. “Keep the change,” I say as I walk over to the waiting area. 

Judy looks up at me rather sternly for a split second and then her face softens. “I’m going to go find us seats,” she tells me.”

I nod as I wait, watching out of the corner of my eye to see where she goes as the whir and hiss of grinding beans and steaming milk emits from behind the counter. 

“Here’s your order, sir,.” the barista says, handing them to me. She’s rather careful about handing me the caralatte, but I don't think much of it.

I walk across the shop to the window seat that Judy had chosen. “Here ya go Fluff,” I say to her as I hand over her caralatte. 

“Thanks,” she says as she holds the cup in both paws and takes a sip. 

“He got out,” Judy says quietly.

“Who got out of where?” I ask, trying hard not to draw conclusions.

She sighed and looked down at the table top before looking back up at me and away. It’s odd; as long as I have known Judy she hasn’t been easily embarrassed. 

“Craig Furgonson escaped prison two weeks ago and his fur was found by CSI at…” she glanced around and leaned forward to whisper to me, “that place in the forest.” 

I nod understandingly and lean forward to whisper to her, “What about the rest of him?”

She shook her head. “His body wasn’t there.”

I lean back and take a sip of my coffee. It’s almost too sweet, honestly. I don't get these often; they’re too expensive for what you get at just over $4 a cup. I look at the rabbit across from me as I process the information she’s provided.

“Nick,” she pauses and looks from the window to me. “He wasn't supposed to get out for at least another twenty years.” 

“What did he do?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. 

“Securities fraud and money laundering.” She sighs. “He stole savings from elderly mammals by having them invest in bogus mutual funds.”

“Oh…” I look out the window. How would a con artist of an investment banker manage to get roped into a summoning spell for which he’d started to collect the mammals even before he’d escaped prison? “How did you meet a guy like that?”

She looks up and shakes her head. I wonder if maybe I’ve overstepped the bounds of our fledgling friendship, but she looks out the window and eventually answers. “He is, or was, charming. I had just completed a difficult semester at U of Z and against my better judgment went to a party with friends.” She looks at me and continues. “One thing led to another and 54 days later Cotton was born.” She sighs. “He was arrested three days after Cotton was born. He hasn't seen her since.” 

I nod; there’s nothing I can say to that. Who am I to judge this rabbit? She needs my help not my mockery. “She's a very perceptive kid. She wasn’t even afraid of me this morning.”

Judy smiles at me. “She likes you.”

I smile at that as I look out the window. My mind is churning with the question of the banker, if he was a banker at all. I look across the table at Judy. “We need more information.” 

She nods at me. “What was he doing there?” 

“That's the question isn't it?”

“Do you think he had anything to do with the thing this morning?” she asks me. “How do you suppose we get more information? I don’t think the ZPD has any traffic cameras set up in the forest.” 

“Maybe,” I answer. “I have something in mind, but it might be a wild fairy hunt.” 

“Fairies?” she asks, and I smile at her implied skepticism _Oh little bun you have so much to learn; the world is much larger than you __know__._ “But first I think we need to get you something to wear that doesn’t make you look like a homeless bunny.” 

An hour and half a minor argument, and no minor amount of ribbing later, we are standing outside of a pizzeria near one of the largest parks in the district. Somehow Judy had found the only store in all of Zootopia that would sell what can only be described as country bunkin wear;and trust me, I let her know about it. But I'm also secretly grateful, as I footed the bill for her even before she promised to pay me back. My father told me to never lend money, just give it and be surprised when they actually pay you back. Besides, Karma told me to be nicer to the bunny so I think she has my back on this.

“Nick!” Judy exclaims at me. “We need answers not lunch.”

I just smirk at her. “But Carrots, this isn't lunch,” I say solemnly. 

“It’s not?” she asks. “Then what is it?”

I grin down at her. “We need bait.”

She goes quiet as the pizzeria opens and I pull the door open for her. We step inside and walk over to the counter. There is a kangaroo behind the counter wearing an already sauce smeared apron. 

“What can I do ya for?” the Kangaroo asks; his accent was thick, making it a little hard to understand him.

“One slice of anything you have with the most toppings,” I answer. “And lots of cheese,” I add. 

The kangaroo looks between us and shrugs. “Ok, one garbage pail coming up,” he says before turning and walking away from us. His large feet slapped noisily on the tile. “That will be $4.50,” said he says a few minutes later, coming back with a triangular box. 

I pull out my wallet and paw over a five dollar bill. “Keep the change,” I say; typically I would give a larger tip, but after bankrolling Carrots’ new wardrobe and some food appropriate for her and Cotton, my wallet is lighter than I’d like it to be. 

We walk out of the shop after grabbing a plastic bag with a fork and knife in it and head down the street once again. We’re just a few buildings down from my parking garage. The box is warm in my paws and smells delicious. 

“Where to now?” Judy asks. 

“We need to go back out to the forest,” I answer her. “Do you think the police are still out there?” 

Judy shakes her head. “No, they should be done by now.” Her brow furrows before she asks, “Why do we need to go back out there?” 

“We’re going to be asking questions about what happened at a specific area; it’s best to be in the area that you’re asking about,” I answer as we enter the garage.

She nods and holds out her paw as we near the car. “I drive,” she insists. 

I smirk at her, dig in my pocket for the car keys, and paw them over. “Not even dating and already demanding, sheesh.” I snark at her as she unlocks the driver side door. 

She grins over at me. “You drive like my grandmother and I’d like to get there before we have to pick Cotton up from daycare.” 

I pause to process the word “we”, then shake my head as she reaches over and unlocks the passenger side door. 

The drive out to the forest is fairly quiet and the spot is really easy for us to find, as the shoulder of the road is torn up and there is a very clear cut path leading deeper into the forest to the right side of the car. I have to admit, getting chauffeured around by her is something that I could get used to, but I'm not sure my car could handle the extra miles. 

“Would you open the frunk please?” I ask as she parks the car alongside the road. She nods as she gets out of the car and fumbles with the keys. 

I place the pizza box in the passenger seat and join her at the front of the car as she opens the frunk. I rummage through the spare supplies I keep in there and hand her a table and chair from a kit’s dollhouse, as well as a plate, thimble, and a small squeeze jar of honey. 

She smirks at me, but I can see the curious look in her eyes as I shut the frunk and get the pizza box out of the passenger seat. She walks beside me as we walk along the now well worn path into the forest. The ZPD had cut back the underbrush, making a very clear path to where we are heading. 

“So why the dollhouse stuff?” she asks.

“Fairies are fickle and suspicious creatures, but if you play up to their egos and bait your snare right they’re fairly easy to trap,” I answer. 

“So we trap a fairy and shake them down for information?” she asks. 

“Yes and no,” I answer. “I only know the name of one fairy, and there’s a high probability that he doesn't know anything.” 

“Then why trap him?” she asks. 

“Just because he doesn't know anything doesn't mean he can't ask on our behalf,” I answer. “So we make a deal.”

She nods understandingly. “Kinda like having a confidential informant,” she states.

I smile down at her, but my smile melts off of my face as we come through the forest to the clearing. The clearing is now bare, with 92 holes in it of varying sizes. There is a mound of dirt off to one side where they’d piled it all. My mind superimposed the rot that I’d seen before; it takes me a moment to clear my head enough to focus once again on what we’d come here for. 

“You ok Slick?” Judy asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yeah,” I answer hesitantly. “I’m good.” I kneel down near where her godfather had once been buried and take the table and chair from her. 

“You sure?” she asks.

“Yeah I'm fine,” I answer. I mean, how do you explain that what you’d seen in that field sticks with you worse than PTSD? “Can you find me a stick?” I ask.

“Ok,” she answers, and moves off as I finish setting up the table. I place the plate and thimble onto the table and fill the thimble full of honey. I use the plastic cutlery from the pizzeria and cut off a portion that would fill the plate.

Using the forefinger claw of my right paw, I prick a finger of the left paw just enough to draw blood and dabble the underside of the pizza crust with it. This is necessary to bind the fairy to my will; this way if need be I can use the stick if the carrot isn't effective. But with a carrot this tasty I’ve never had to use the stick. It also helps that I have a fairly decent working relationship with this fairy, but the formalities have to be observed. 

“Here,” Judy says as she comes back, pawing me a surprisingly straight stick just as I was finishing setting the table. She looks at the table somewhat in disbelief. “You sure this is going to work?” she asks as I draw a large circle around the table. 

“No,” I answer truthfully. “But we have nothing else to lose.” 

Judy is quiet as I prick my finger again and touch a drop of blood to the circle with a little bit of my will. The sudden snap hiss of the circle energizing sounds oddly like a light saber with a flash of blue light. 

“Wow…” Judy says, and I grin a bit at her awe as I use leaves and bits of grass to camouflage the circle. She looks to me as I back away and sit down under a nearby tree. “Now what?” 

“Now I call him out,” I answer as I start to mumble just a bit of quasi Latin once again. “Come here Toot-Toot,” I call to the wind, putting a bit of power behind it. 

Judy sits down beside me as we wait. “You sure that worked?” she asks.

I nod. “He’ll come; I used his true name so he has to come. Just have a bit of patience.” 

A few minutes later a silvery ball of luminescence flies in to land directly in the circle. Toot-Toot, and no that is not his true name, stands a little over two inches tall, which makes him the shortest elephant in existence. He is dressed in what I can only describe as the summer collection of refuse. He wears a vest made from the discarded wrapper of a candy bar with slits in the back for his dragonfly like wings and what looks to be a kilt made from a plastic shopping bag. The fey are malleable and their appearance may change on a whim, but he’s been an elephant for as long as I’ve known him. 

He circled the table looking for a trap, not knowing or maybe knowing and not caring that he’d already stepped into it. Within moments the honey is downed and the pizza disappears down his throat as well. As soon as he ingests my blood the circle pops into life, trapping him in place. 

“Come out you coward so I can bite your face off!” Toot-Toot yells, far more gruffly and deeply than his small stature would have implied that he could. “Unless you free me I shall make all your fur fall out and your nose go blind!” 

“Now Toot-Toot, that's now way to talk to a friend,” I say kindly. 

“Friend?” Toot-Toot asks, “Buddy, if this is how you treat your friends I would hate to see how you treat your lovers!” 

Judy giggles at that. Which only draws his ire toward her. “What do you think you’re laughing at, Cottontail? I shall have you know you’re in the presence of greatness; you should cower before the awe inspiring presence of the mighty and dreadful Toot-Toot!”

I roll my eyes. “Toot, the only thing mighty and dreadful at the moment is your breath after you consumed that pizza. Now if you’d like more pizza, well, maybe we can work out a deal.”

“More pizza?!?!” Toot-Toot exclaims excitedly, then he eyes me suspiciously. “What do I have to do to get it?” 

I shrug nonchalantly. “We just need to know what happened here.”

“Gah you are such a dumb ass; someone dug a lot of holes, now give me my pizza!” His wings flutter and he bounces off the edge of the empowered circle, landing on his backside. His eyes glare up at me. 

“I know someone dug a lot of holes. The ZPD recently dug these, but that's not what we want to know. A rabbit was here: brown fur, brown eyes, just a little taller than Judy here,” I told him. “We need to know what happened to him.”

“I dunno nuthin about no rabbits.” Toot-Toot said. 

“I will make you a trade: find out what happened to the rabbit and I will give you the rest of the slice of pizza,” I say. 

“Two slices,” Toot-Toot counters. 

I eye the diminutive elephant. “Get me the information in two hours and if the information pans out I’ll have a pizza delivered out here.” That gets the fairy’s attention as he glances between me and Judy.

“Fine deal!” Toot-Toot exclaims. “Now lemme out!” 

I wave my paw and Toot-Toot shoots off into the forest like a rocket. 

“Wow…” Judy starts. “That wasn’t quite what I expected.”

I sit back down under the tree to wait, crossing my legs as I stretch out with my paws behind my head. “What did you expect?” I ask. “Little glowing bunnies in green summer dresses?”

She rolls her eyes at me. “Maybe I guess.” She sighs. “You don't mean to sit here and wait do you?”

“Have to; if I don't he’ll come back here, blurt out the information, and still expect his reward,” I explain. “Have to stay awake too, otherwise he’ll just tell it to me while I'm asleep.”

“What if he lies?” Judy asks.

“He can’t.” 

“But…”

“Listen, it's against their very nature. They can’t lie; they are incapable of it. They have very, very strict rules in which they may operate in the world, and lying is the biggest one,” I explain as she sits down beside me again. 

She sits quietly and looks up at the sky, which I suppose is better than looking at a field that was once a bunch of shallow graves. “Why pizza?” 

I smile. “Depends on the fairy, but to the wee folk, the lesser of the fey, it’s like nip. They love the stuff; the more toppings the better, as it's a richer experience for them.”

“So we’re trading drugs for information?” she asks, I can hear the uncertainty in her voice. 

“Do they get high from it?” I ask. “No, no they don’t. Do they crave it the same way? Yes, yes they do.”

“Well I guess that's not so bad,” Judy admits. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” I have a feeling that I’m going to regret this. 

“When did you first do magic?” she asks. 

I stare up at the sky as moments tick past, unsure how to answer. She can probably feel my anxiety ramp up. “You know what, it….” she starts

“It’s ok,” I say, interrupting her.” I'm sure you telling me about Craig wasn’t enjoyable.” I turn my head and look over at her. “It was the worst best day of my life.”

I sigh as I look up at the clouds. “First you have to understand something Fluff. My dad would never win a father of the year award. But he was all I had.” 

I smile. “We traveled constantly. He was a traveling magician; he taught me sleight of paw and card tricks and all sorts of things a naive kit thought was cool, and there was an ever revolving door of females.” 

“We came to Zootopia maybe once a year to do a tour of the districts. For two weeks he would do shows all throughout the city. Mostly dive bars and smaller community stages, and every so often a birthday party or something.” I pause and shake my head. “Mostly though we were on the road. Vegas, Pawstin, Alpanta, Chicowgo, all over the place. I thought nothing would be cooler than to be on stage with my dad sawing some vixen in half.” 

“I had just turned 13 a few days prior. He had just performed his first sold out show. It was so cool. The crowd, the cheers, the gasps of disbelief; I understood that night why he did it. Why he slogged night after night from low paying gig to low paying gig. He’d developed a new illusion and it had been a smash hit. He was in talks for a four month deal to do a casino in Vegas.” I smile whimsically. “The illusion was so good that we got upgraded rooms from the dive place to an actual hotel and dad decided to treat me. We went to a restaurant where they walk by and just pile the food on your plate. Steaks, pie, you name it. I was so full.” I chuckle. “He even snuck me just a bit of his whiskey and coke.” 

I fall quiet as I stare at the passing clouds, I'm not sure how long I’m quiet until Judy pulls me out of my thoughts, out of the past. “What happened?” she asks. 

I take a deep breath. “We were walking back to the hotel when we were suddenly grabbed and shoved into an alleyway.” I shake my head. “Initially I thought we were being mugged. It's not like it was the first time that it had happened, but one of them had my dad on the ground. My dad was struggling and I was being held.”

I close my eyes and take a shaky breath. “What I thought was a deer bit down on my father's throat. I could hear the slurping and whatever it was that held me was whispering in my ear telling me exactly how I was about to die; it wanted to savor what it called ‘the sweet taste of my fear.’” 

I look over at her and can see how large her eyes have gotten and look back up to the sky. “I was so angry.” I swallow hard. “All I could feel was this burning rage. Like I was standing at the lip of a bottomless well of energy and all I had to do was reach out and grab it. I sunk my claws into the stomach of the thing that held me and imagined fire pouring from my paw into its stomach and I poured that burning rage into it.”

I close my eyes. “It burst into flames and died beside my father. The one that killed my father ran and I tried to run after it but lost it in the maze that was the city streets. I hid under a bridge in a park for two days and eventually my grandfather found me.”

I can feel tears pooling at the corners of my eyes. “I became his apprentice and he taught me.” I sit up and look down at my paws. “Fucking vampires killed my father.”

I feel a gentle paw rest on my left forearm and look down to see her grey paw. It’s oddly comforting, and for the first time in a while I feel that maybe I'm not so alone. “You survived.” I nod in agreement. “I think your father would be proud.” 

I shake away slightly, even though I'm hesitant to break the contact, and mumble, “Come on Toot-Toot, any time ol’ buddy.”

He doesn’t suddenly appear, nor did I really expect him to. But Judy and I sit in a semi comfortable silence. Amazingly to me, Judy scoots just a bit closer to me. I find this oddly soothing and feel…. Not quite comfortable but at ease, I guess, around the rabbit. I don’t know why and I feel too raw at the moment to think about it much. My grandfather told me the memories of when I first used my magic would always be powerful. I just wish it had happened at any other time in my life, but like Judy said, I survived. 

Time passes strangely out in nature, but it doesn't feel like it’s too much longer before we hear the buzz of wings and the luminescent glow of Toot-Toot could be seen making his way back through the forest. He lands in front of us and huffs before looking up at me. “So I talked to Charms, who heard it from Naomi, who talked to Fank, who….”

“What did you find out?” I ask, knowing that if I let him go on he’ll rattle off a list of names longer than he is tall. 

“Your bunny jumped into the middle pit over there and then exploded.” Toot-Toot gestured with his trunk. 

“Exploded how?” I ask. 

“That's not what you wanted to know; you wanted to know if he was here. He was here four rises of the sun ago and then exploded.” He crosses his arms and glares up at me. “Now pay up.”

“Did the rabbit explode before or after the sun rise?” I ask.

“Before. Now. Pay. Up,” Toot-Toot demands. 

I nod and reluctantly open the pizza box, placing it in front of Toot-Toot, and stand up. “Come on Fluff,” I say as I start gathering up the doll furniture. 

“But…” Judy starts, then gives the pizza box an odd look. The sounds coming from the now closed pizza box can only be described as sexual in nature. The moans and the odd ‘so cheesy’ only cause me to shake my head. She follows me reluctantly back toward the car. 

“We aren’t going to get anything out of him now anyway,” I explain. “Besides, he was right; the deal was to find out if the rabbit had been here and he had. Now we need to figure out what happened to him.”

“We should try to get more information,” Judy started. I'm sure her police training is screaming at her to go back and grill Toot-Toot until he coughs up what she wants to know. 

I turn and look at her and sigh, as I knew the feeling. Getting information from the fey is frustrating and annoying. “Look, the fey operate in very strict rules, as I said. We made a deal for information about the rabbit being there in exchange for a slice of pizza. He fulfilled his end of the bargain. Craig exploded, but just because he exploded doesn't mean he died.”

Judy’s brow furrows as she tries to make sense of the information. “It doesn’t?” 

I look back to the clearing and shake my head. “That was a summoning circle, a very powerful one.”

“How powerful?”

“If the circle I used to shield your muffin yesterday and hold Toot-Toot today was the equivalent of, say, throwing a stone?” I ask and she nods. “Then that over there was the Death Star.” I point back to the clearing using the doll chair.

We look at each other for many moments before she goes, “Oh…”

I think she finally understands that no minor spook came through; hell, I'm not even sure that the bull thing is all that came through.   



	7. Chapter 6

# Chapter 6

An hour or so later I step back into my home. Judy had gone to get Cotton from daycare and to pick up things for smores tonight. I walk over to the corner where the trap door lies for my lab and pull back the carpets, not even bothering to grab my robe or fuzzy slippers. I have work to do and my time is limited. 

“Ben!” I shout as soon as my paws touch the ladder and the candles and brazier below light up. “I need help.”

Ben's eyes light up blue. “I’m not sure I'm qualified to give you the help you need. You know you’re crazy for letting the rabbit stay here.”

“She needs my help.” I start moving toward my work bench as soon as my paws touch the floor of my lab. “Look, I need anything that can give me an edge against… Well I’m not sure what it is; I want to say a demon but…”

Ben huffs as much as a skull can do anything. “Fine; if you’re that determined to kill yourself let me think.” 

“Just hurry; Judy’s gone to get Cotton so time is limited.”

“Well we could always make a love potion, have her drink it, and you both see sense and leave this city to its fate,” Ben says.

I roll my eyes. “You know those only work if a mammal actually feels something for the other one. They never work as intended and always end in frustration, broken hearts, and disappointment.” 

“How do you know?” Ben asks.

“You told me as much!” I all but shout at the skull. 

“Not that you dummy, I know how they work; who’s the spirit of intellect here?” he asks rhetorically. “I mean how do you know she doesn't feel anything for you?” 

I blink as I mull over what he said and then shake my head. I don’t have time for this and it's not something I really want to think about. “Not going to help Ben; is there anything else?” 

“You have the ingredients to make an invisibility potion; well, not a true one since you keep spending your money on extravagances such as food and that dump you call an office.” He pauses for a moment. “You have the things needed to enchant a bracelet to empower your shield, as well as a ring that can store kinetic force, but that will take time that I doubt you have.”

“Then the potion it is.” I won't lie, I'm intrigued by the other two; maybe something I’ll have to work on after this blows over. 

Making potions is fairly easy. First you need a base, which is always a liquid of some sort. Water, alcohol, coffee, even energy drinks work well depending on what you’re making. Then you need something for each of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. Finally, you need something that engages the mind and spirit. The combination depends on the mammal making them; it can take years to figure out one potion. That is, unless you have a way to cheat, which I do. Ben has been passed down through hundreds if not thousands of wizards, sorcerers, and sorceresses. There might be a witch or two in there as well, but he’s been dodgy on that information. 

“Mmmmm, I think for this you need eight ounces of water, two inches of plastic wrap, a rustle of wind, one ounce of your deodorant, a snipping of plain white cotton, a leaf of lettuce, a shredded piece of white paper, and elevator music,” Ben rambles off the ingredients I need. A fairly cheap potion to make except for the rustle of wind. You won't believe how hard it is to trap a rustle of wind.

“You sure this will make me invisible?” I ask. 

“Well, not fully invisible; in order for that you would need crushed stained glass from a Catholic Church….” he starts, and my eyes go wide. 

“Never mind,” I quickly move over to the storage shelves and start gathering the ingredients. Potions really are amazingly simple to make; it’s really just a matter of mixing the ingredients, waiting, and pouring just a bit of magic into them to activate the ingredients. Given this, there’s some down time while I wait for the ingredients to percolate together. 

I keep a close eye on the potion as the Bunsen burner brings it to a slow boil. “Ben, if a mammal was at the center of that summoning circle what would happen?” Even though I know that this is vital information, I’m dreading the answer.

“Who would be stupid enough to do that?” The incredulity was clear in his voice.

“Judy’s ex evidently. According to one of the weefolk he jumped in and exploded.” I think back to when we first got to the site. “The center of it did look like a crater.”

“Mammals,” Ben sighs. “Well if he was inside another circle he could have been the focus for a rather powerful possession spell.” 

“Would something else have been able to be summoned at the same time?” I ask, once again fearing the answer.

“There would be enough magic in 91 souls to bring over a small army of nasty creatures,” Ben explains helpfully much to my dread. “Or one very nasty creature and something lesser.” Ben pauses. “Or something super nasty that dragged something else here kicking and screaming.”

I think about it. “This morning I tossed a bull thing into a car; it turned into bats and flew away with the rising of the sun.”

“Bats?” I can hear the surprise in his voice.

“Yes Ben bats as in plural, more than one,” I answer.

“Was it able to change in any way?”

“Yeah, it was getting smaller to fit between the buildings. My wards seemed to keep it from damaging this one,” .

Ben is silent for a while and my dread grows. “Sounds like one of the lesser demons then. Probably a Dehesa. But that begs the question: what did your rabbit do to draw that kind of ire?”

“Can a Dehesa possess a mammal?” .

“I never heard of it,but I guess it is possible for it to make a bargain to fulfill something.”

“It wants Judy and Cotton,” I muse.

“Well, on the bright side I think you can take it,” Ben says cheerily. “But… that is most definitely not all that came through. Oh, and your potion is ready.” 

“Thanks,” I mutter as I turn my attention to the concoction in the beaker. It has turned a pale pink color and I press my finger to the rim of it, pouring a bit of my will into it. A small poof of blue smoke puffs out of the mouth of the beaker and the concoction goes clear. It’s so clear, in fact, that I can hardly detect its presence at all.

I turn off the Bunsen burner and allow it to come to room temperature. I then sit down to take a look at my notes. Ben thinks I can take the bull thing that he calls a Dehesa. I'm not sure it looked like it shrugged off getting tossed into a car. But maybe something else will hurt it more than blunt force…

After a few minutes the potion cools and I, being the environmentally conscious wizard that I am, use a funnel to pour it back into the water bottle. Besides, I'm also too cheap to buy containers specifically for this purpose. Maybe I can get those sport water bottles in bulk somewhere? 

After dousing the candles for the lab I head back upstairs and shut the trap door. I’m just getting the rugs pulled over it when I hear a key in the lock and a silvery grey blur comes into the apartment like a breath of fresh air.

“Mr. Nick! Mr Nick!” Cotton calls excitedly. “We got marshmallows and graham crackers and chocolates for smores! And Mama made sure that the chocolate was canine safe and, and, and we got skewer thingies to roast marshmallows on and, and, and SMORES!” 

I can't help but smile as she dances around the space. Her joyous energy is infectious and causes me to smile regardless of my worries. Judy follows her in carrying a couple of grocery bags and pushes the door shut with her foot. 

“Dinner will be in a little bit Nick,” she says as she carries the bags over to the food preparation area. 

“We got you chicken!” Cotton says with excitement, and I raise an eyebrow as I look over at Judy questioningly. 

Judy smiles. “Well...” she starts. “You are kindly opening your home to us, and I just wanted to do something nice; besides I found this recipe at the supermarket and it looked easy enough.”

“Thank you but you don't have to go through all the trouble,” I tell her as Cotton drags me across the room. I sit the water bottle full of potion on top of the fridge as I pass by it. 

“Hey, would you help her with her reading homework while I get dinner ready?” Judy asks.

“Uhh, sure,” I answer as I'm pulled over to the couch. I’m honestly a little taken back by this, but Cotton is a good kit so I'm sure this won't be that bad. 

I can honestly say sitting with Cotton and helping her as she reads _The Little Engine That Could_ is the highlight of my day. She tries so hard and works so hard at it that even the simplest of praise is rewarded with a big beaming smile. She has as pure of a soul as any could in this world, yet untouched by the harsh realities of life; to her, nearly everything has an almost magical quality. It might also help that she is tucked right up against my side showing me the pictures excitedly. 

Honestly, sitting here with this kit reading a book, watching her mother make us dinner…there's just something warm about it. My home for once feels warm, not hot or anything, but just comfortably warm. 

“Ok Cotton, why don't you go wash your paws? Dinner will be ready in just a moment,” Judy says from the food preparation area. I'm impressed; the grilled chicken breast smells wonderful and the plate she places in my paws looks outstanding. Grilled chicken breast, rice, mixed vegetables, and a side salad. I haven't eaten this well outside of a restaurant or my grandfather's house. 

The chicken is a bit over done, but it doesn’t seem to affect its overall deliciousness. I look from my plate to Judy thoughtfully as I eat my dinner. The other surprising thing is how much food the pair of them put away. Tofu, salad, mixed vegetables, and rice; I'm pretty sure that the pair of them ate more than I did, which was impressive. 

I finish my meal first, then start doing the dishes. I feel it's only fair, as even after the day we’d had Judy took the time to cook all three of us a meal. She even spent a portion of what I gave her to get her and Cotton some food to get me something as well. I’m honestly unsure how to feel about this. The meal was scrumptious, easily beating any canned meal ever. 

I sigh as I sit back down after the dishes are done. Cotton is coloring in front of the fireplace and Judy is writing in a notebook over in the arm chair. I watch the fire in the fireplace; it’s relaxing and soothing. Fire was one of the first things ’d conjured, and also the first thing I’d mastered to the satisfaction of my grandfather. Some would probably say I like fire because the devil made me. 

“Cotton,” Judy says after some time, “go change into your pajamas; it’s bed time.” 

“Aww Mo-ooom…” Cotton says as she gets up and slowly starts to put away her crayons. 

“If you get ready for bed, I’ll tell you a story,” I say kindly, and Cotton looks up at me with surprise. 

“Really?” she asks, and I nod. Judy looks over at me and raises an eyebrow. 

“I will, and I promise it will be a good one.” Then I grin and lean forward. “You won't find it in any book either.” 

I lean back on the couch as Cotton rushes off to get ready for bed. 

“Just what, pray tell, are you going to tell my daughter?” Judy asks me. 

“You’ll like it Fluff; strong female character and a good moral at the end of it,” I say, shooting her a wink. 

Actually, I’m not really sure what story I’m going to tell the young rabbit; it's just that it seems to have aborted a confrontation between the two, and honestly I'm not sure I'm prepared for a titanic struggle of wills. 

“Mr. Nick! Mr. Nick! I'm ready for bed.”

“Brush your teeth?” Judy asks.

“Uh-huh,” Cotton answers.

“Wash behind your ears?”

“Uh-huh; see, they’re even wet!” Cotton says excitedly as she pulls down her ears so we can see the backs of them. “Can we please have story time now?” 

Judy sighs then turns to me expectantly. “Ok Mr. Storyteller, let’s see what you’re made of.” 

I flash Judy a sly grin. “Ok Cotton, sit down and I will tell you a very important story, one that happened a long, long time ago…”

Judy rolled her eyes. “You need to do better than retelling Star Wars.”

I roll my eyes at Judy as I draw subtly on magic. “On a long forgotten hill beside a long forgotten forest…” I expel the energy, shaping it, and a vivid green hill with a vivid green forest springs between us. 

“Whoa…” Cotton says, and I can hear Judy suck in a breath.

“A small clan of foxes made their homes.” Suddenly doors and barns sprout on and around the hill. “They were a quiet clan; they farmed berries and raised chickens and were happy.” Foxes could be seen now, tending fields and chickens and going about their business. 

I smile as Cotton bends forward to watch the little foxes. 

“They lived there contently for many years, tending their fields and tending their families in peace, until one day a pack of wolves marched into their village.” Wolves in what looks like medieval battle armor march into the center of the village. “Their leader was a mean greedy wolf who thought just because they were stronger and had figured out how to work metal that they could take whatever they wanted.” The wolves could be seen taking chickens from the foxes and marching off again. 

“No! That's mean!” Cotton exclaims at the wolves. I can see Judy leaning forward to watch herself and smile to myself. 

“The wolves would leave, but they always came back, always wanting more and more, and soon the fox village was left with just scraps of food to feed their families.” The wolves could be seen marching in and taking more and more and the village starts to look progressively more run down. “Some of the villagers left hoping to find new homes where there were no wolves. Some stayed because they had kits that couldn’t make the journey to a new home. So the wolves kept coming back.” 

Cotton looks from the sad looking village to me then back again.

“One day the wolves came marching into the village and a snow white vixen stood in their way. She was tired of the wolves preying on her village and had concocted a plan.” A snow white vixen in a light blue dress with bright orange eyes stood before the wolves. “She challenged the wolf leader to a race through the forest. If she won the wolves would leave them alone; if he won she would go with the wolves instead.” 

“She won right? She has to win Mr. Nick!” Cotton looks up at me, her eyes wide. 

“The route the vixen took through the woods was tricky and difficult for the wolf in his heavy armor, but still he kept up with her,” I say as we watch the vixen and wolf run through the trees and through a stream. “But she had explored much of that forest, because she would hide there every time the wolves came. She knew there was a cave, and that inside the cave slept a dragon.”

Cottons eyes go wide as the vixen and wolf dart into the cave. 

“The wolf’s armor was noisy and he woke the dragon, who threw him out of the cave.” We watch as the wolf in armor is thrown out of the cave. “The dragon was angry at being woken up and knew the vixen was still there.” The dragon could be seen stomping around his cave. “The vixen apologized to the dragon and explained about what the wolves had been doing to her village. The dragon’s anger faded and he agreed with her that what the wolves had been doing to her village wasn’t fair. But he had long since grown too big to leave his cave, so he taught the vixen to use magic instead.” 

Cotton’s eye light up as the vixen throws her first fire ball.

“When the vixen returned home, she found the wolves stealing all the food in the village.” The illusion changed to wolves going into homes and coming out with baskets of food. But some of the wolves were just standing to the side trying not to get involved. “The wolf leader said the vixen cheated and demanded that she go with them.”

Cotton gasped. “She can’t go!”

I smile at her and see the concern in Judy’s eyes. “The vixen called the wolf leader a coward, saying how he’d left her alone with the dragon and that she wouldn’t go with anyone who would cower the way he did.” The illusion changed again to the vixen standing up to the wolf leader. “The wolf leader raised his fist to strike the vixen but she lit his tail on fire, since she truly didn't want to hurt the wolf leader, she just wanted them to go away.” 

“Did he go away?” Cotton asks.

“He did; he ran away with the wolves that followed him and never bothered the village again.” The illusion slowly changed back to a happy village. “The vixen knew she had a powerful tool, but also knew what it felt like when the not so powerful didn't have the same tool, so she taught all that came to her what the dragon taught her in the cave.” The illusion changes to the vixen surrounded by all sorts of mammals: wolves, zebras, hyenas, rabbits, mammals of all different shapes and sizes. “She came to understand that everything has to balance, the good with the bad, as it all has a place in our world.” 

Cotton looks up at me, her big brown eyes wide, as I lean forward. “But sometimes the good has to fight the bad, and that takes brave mammals, in order to stand up for what’s right.”

“Like Mama?” Cotton asks. 

I nod and confirm, “Like your mom.”

“What was the vixen’s name?” Judy asks.

I grin and look over at her. “Karma.”

Judy nods as she stands up, and I wave a paw to dispel the illusion. “Ok kiddo, time for bed; say goodnight to Mr. Nick.”

“Aww….” Cotton looks up at Judy and then me. “Good night Mr. Nick!” she says as she hops up and gives me a big hug. My eyes go wide for just a moment before I wrap an arm around her and hug her back. 

“Good night, Cotton,” I say softly. 

I lean back on the couch as Judy puts Cotton to bed. I can hear her straightening out the blankets on it. I try hard not to listen as Cotton says her prayers and tells Judy good night. I am somewhat surprised when I hear my name muttered in with them. I try not to look too far into the prayers of a kit. My eyes drift across the room to my staff sitting in the corner by the door. 

“She likes you,” Judy says quietly as she sits down beside me on the couch. There is still a respectful distance between us, but it’s the closest that she’s gotten to me all evening.

I smile and tilt my head down to look at her. “She's a good kit; you should be proud.”

“I...am.” She looks up at me and smiles. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for dinner.” 

She smiles. “You already thanked me for that. Was the story true?” 

I pause for a moment. The story had been told to me by Karma herself when I was cowering under the bridge, so I have no reason to doubt its validity; I just changed a few of the details to be more kit friendly. “As far as I know.” 

“You tell a good story Nick, and the images? Wow,” she says quietly. I can hear a tinge of wonder in her voice.

I smile; it’s not smug, but it is full of pride. “Thank you.”

“Do dragons exist?”

“I have not yet met one but yes,” I answer quietly. 

“There is so much…” I hear her voice fall off as if she's thinking about something. I decide not to pry and just enjoy the company of another mammal. 

“Is it going to come back tonight?” she asks.

“I dunno,” I stretch; more than likely it will. If it doesn’t then I fear to think about what will happen. 

“I’m going to get some rest,” she tells me as she stands up. “Good night Nick, and thanks.”

I smile up at her. “Good night Fluff” I say, watching as she walks past. 

After a few minutes I walk across the room to the door and retrieve my staff. I walk back to the couch and lay down, sitting my staff down on the floor beside the couch. I reach out with my will and extinguish most of the candles in the apartment. 

I slip off to sleep and for once my dreams are not haunted. I don’t know why; maybe it's the closeness of another mammal. I mean Cotton and Judy are asleep maybe less than five feet away from me. 

I have no idea how much time has passed, but can tell dawn is still a ways away. Something in my head is screaming at me to wake up. My apartment is silent as my paw reaches down and takes hold of my staff on the floor. 

“Akkkk…” I hear Judy coughing as I sit up. “That was foul tasting water.”

“WIZARD!” booms a voice outside, “I KNOW THEY ARE STILL IN THERE!” 

I sit up and look toward the fridge just in time to see the door shut. I see the bottle that I had put the potion in float over to the sink and upturn, dumping the rest out.

“That wasn't water,” I say as I stand up, rubbing my left paw down across my face. “It was an invisibility potion; just how did you get your paws on it?” 

“A what!?!” 

“I put it on top of the fridge for a reason!” 

“Mama?” Cotton asks sleepily.

“WIZARD!” booms the demon thing once again “COME OUT OR GIVE ME WHAT IS MINE BY RIGHT!” 

“I thought it was a bottle of water and put it into the fridge last night while you were washing dishes!” Judy exclaims. “Sweet cheese and crackers Nick, you need to label these things!” 

“Mama!” shouts Cotton, fear evident in her voice. 

“Hold her and stay inside; she's not going to be able to see you so you’ll need to keep a hold of her,” I tell Judy as I walk toward the door. 

“Nick! Wait! Just how long is this going to last?!?!” Under different circumstances this could be amusing. The building shakes above us as something is smashed into it. 

“I’m not sure,” I answer truthfully. It really depends on her metabolism and how much of it she drank. “Maybe an hour, maybe more.” 

“Mama?” Cotton asks. “You’re invisible, cooool!” 

I pause and take a breath as I place my paw on the door latch. 

“Nick?” Judy says behind me, and I look over my shoulder at the bed. I can see just the faintest outline of her and smile at Cotton’s bright brown eyes peeking over the edge of the dresser drawer at me. “Be careful.”

I nod as I open the door and step outside. My heart is hammering in my chest. I step outside and into what can only be described as a disaster area. The building adjacent to mine is smoldering; car alarms and distant sirens split the night air with their shrill warbling. 

“AHHH, THERE YOU ARE…” I look up into a smoldering eye of the bull demon. “COME TO GIVE ME WHAT I WANT?” 

“Craig Furgonson!” I shout as I slam the butt of my staff against the pavement. A sudden crack of energy ensures that I have the thing’s attention. “I know about your deal…”

“SHE TOOK HER!” the demon shouted. “SHE TOOK MY PROGENY AND LEFT ME TO ROT IN THAT CELL!” 

“That's a lie Craig!” I hear from behind me and sigh. “You lied! You cheated! You stole!” 

“YOU…” seethed the demon. “I ONLY STOLE FROM SCUM. I ONLY STOLE FROM THOSE THAT HUNTED US, LIKE HIM!” the demon rears back with a light pole in its hoof and swings it down toward me. 

I raise my staff and my shield pops into place at the last second, the light pole bending around it, but I'm still driven down to my knees from the weight of the blow. 

“Judy!” I shout as I get back up on my feet. “Get back inside!” The demon shoulders its way into the alley and the adjacent building collapses in on itself. I can feel the strain it’s putting on my wards. 

I gather up my will and thrust the head of my staff at the demon as I shout, “Forzare!” causing it to stagger back a step or two. 

“Mama?!?” I hear behind me and sigh; it seems neither of the rabbits could listen to me and stay inside.

“MY CHILD?” says the demon. “SHE’S GROWN!? SO MUCH TIME HAS BEEN STOLEN FROM ME!” 

“Judy, get Cotton and get inside now!” I shout.

“NO, YOU SHALL NOT HIDE THEM AWAY!” the demon bellows as it rears back with the streetlight. “I SHALL HAVE WHAT IS MINE!” 

My eyes go wide as I dive and wrap my left arm around where I think Judy is and quietly thank Karma that I was right. I pull both Judy and Cotton close as I lift my staff over us and a shield pops in place and anchor it to the pavement under us. The demon bats at the rubble of the fallen building and I grunt as it pelts against and over the shield. 

The demon bats at the rubble repeatedly, roaring in frustration. I feel the weight of the rubble piling over us and grit my teeth against the weight. “Why couldn’t you have stayed inside?” I ask. 

“If that…thing is Craig then I don't want you fighting my battles for me….” Judy starts and I glance toward my door only to see nothing but rubble. 

“Well unfortunately I don't think there is any amount of bun fu that that will help you defeat a two story demon.” I wince as said demon slams something into the rubble above us. I can hear the sirens getting closer. 

“I’’ll have you know…” Judy starts and she jams her finger into my ribs.

I wince from that as well. “Look, I don't doubt you can wipe the floor with my tail, but I need you to get your daughter to safety.”

“Mama, I'm scared,” Cotton says, sounding like she’s on the verge of tears.

“IF SHE’S HURT I WILL GRIND YOUR BONES TO DUST WIZARD!” the demon bellows, slamming against the rubble and my shield once again.

“It’s ok baby,” Judy soothes Cotton. “Ok Nick, I take it you have a plan.”

I nod. “I'm going to blast this rubble off of us and you’re going to run, run and don't look back.”

I see Cotton shift as Judy gathers her daughter to her chest; I can see the mixed look of awe and sheer terror in her eyes as I draw on the natural magic around us. I release the energy by forcing my shield to rapidly expand, clearing the rubble off of us. “Go!” I shout as I stand and turn to face the demon. 

I can hear Judy’s near silent retreating paw steps behind me as the demon and I eye each other. It swings an entire traffic pole in a downward vertical slash aimed at my head. I side step and shout “Forzare!” with a thrust of my staff, releasing a blast of force into its face. 

The demon staggers back, the traffic pole making a hideous racket as it drags along the pavement. I’m not sure if I’ve hurt it or just put it off balance as it slams into the building across the street. That's when I did something I will regret for the rest of my life.

I open my third-eye, my wizard sight, and peer into the swirling blackness of hate and despair that is the demon. I’m hoping that there’s still something of Craig in there, something that might be able to be saved, but I'm not seeing it. The demon is starting to move again and I step up onto the pile of rubble at the end of what used to be the alleyway. My resolve hardens; if Cotton and Judy are to be safe and free of the beast then I must destroy it. 

I switch my staff from my right paw over to my left. My right paw erupts into flame. The demon’s head turns and seemingly tracks what I can only assume is Judy’s progress with Cotton up the next street over. It stands and I let it take two steps down the street before I punch the head of my staff forward and shout, “Forzare!”

The kinetic blast strikes it behind its left knee and its weight comes down onto that leg. I grin in satisfaction as the thing sprawls across the street crushing a medium sized sedan, its face ending up in the windshield of a large SUV.

The fire around my right paw condenses into a ball of swirling flame. I rear back with my right paw, my left coming in front of me with my staff parallel with the ground. I pour my worry for Judy and Cotton into the spell as I fling my right paw forward like I’m throwing a 90 mph fast ball as I shout, “Fuego!” The fireball shoots from my paw and into the back of the demon’s head as he starts to get up from the ground. 

I am rewarded with a roar of pain as the fireball burns into the writhing mass of darkness and  then struck with the thought,  _ So it can feel pain.  _ I grin and thrust my staff forward as the runes light up, casting the area in a pale eerie light as I hit it in the back of the knee with  another kinetic blast as it starts to rise. The blast doesn't send it sprawling  this time, but does keep it from fully rising to its hooves. 

My eyes widen and I have just enough time to produce a shield but am unable to anchor it to anything before the demon swings its arm back and strikes my left side. I feel the ribs on the right side of my chest crack as I strike the building across the street. The pain in my chest is so bad I can barely focus as I slide down the wall to the sidewalk. 

I groan as I get up to my paws and knees and close my eyes, mumbling a few phrases in quasi-Latin. The spell I cast will postpone the pain and allow me to breath just a bit easier; the downside is that I’ll feel the pain ten fold later. But that is a problem for later. 

I look up just in time to see the demon pull the SUV off of its face in a symphony of stressed metal and glass. I'm forced to roll out of the way, holding my staff tight to my chest as the demon tosses the SUV at me in hopes of finishing me off. I keep rolling and only stop when my back hits a parked truck. A good thing too, as a split second later the demon swings its traffic light club down and I am showered in glittering fragments of shattered safety glass. 

I roll to a kneeling position and peek through the rent in the pickup truck’s cab at the demon. I can see its indecisiveness as its desire to chase after Cotton and Judy conflicts with its self preservation instincts about turning its back to me. The thing is fully on its hooves now and I skirt up the side of the truck to the next car parked in line. 

It roars and smashes the traffic light club over and over again into the truck, and when that breaks it stabs the broken bit into the cab, skewering it like a toothpick through something delicious and bacon wrapped. I peek over the edge of the car I'm hiding behind and see it huffing before it turns up the street. I can now see flashing red and blue lights at the end of the block and see that the cops have shined spot lights on the demon, blinding it. 

The police open fire and the demon laughs as dozens of green and red fletched tranquilizer darts appear in its chest. I stand from my position behind the car and thrust my staff at the demon once again with a shout of, “Forzare!” sending another blast of kinetic force into its right knee. I quickly follow it up with a ball of wreathing fire and a shout of, “Fuego!” The ball of fire slams into its knee as well, causing the demon to roar in pain as the stressed joint explodes. 

I'm forced to dive back as the demon spins around and slams a clawed fist into the car where I just was. And then again as its other fist comes down, trying to skewer me where I stand. 

I shove my right paw forward into the demon’s face as I scream again, “Fuego!” and a gout of fire pours from my paw into the demon’s face in a steady stream. I grit my teeth in a snarl as I pour everything into the stream of fire and the demon’s face melts away with a sickening smell. 

Suddenly the demon erupts into a cloud of black smoke and seemingly disburses into the wind, leaving behind the destruction of our confrontation. I lean heavily on my staff, spent, and then slip as all strength suddenly leaves my body. I come crashing down hard on my already injured right side and my eyes roll back up in my head with the pain. 

The last thing I hear before blacking out is a startled and worried scream of, “Nick!”


	8. Chapter 7

# Chapter 7:

I find myself in a blinding white room. It's so white and bright that it forces me to close my eyes as I roll over and get to my paws and knees. I wince as I try to put weight on my right leg and it hurts; it must have gotten hurt in the fight with the demon as well. 

“If this is death then it’s overrated,” I mumble; my ears perk up as I hear a giggle in response. 

“Mmmm, she was right; always sarcastic to the core,” a sing song voice says, and I open my eyes. The blinding whiteness has been replaced by tall lush green grass and calm blue sky. 

“Surprise!” shouts the voice and I look up just in time to get a face full of water. 

“GAH!” I shout, coughing, and the voice giggles again. 

“Silly fox. We need to talk.” I glance around, looking for the source of the voice. My eyes land on a rabbit standing not far from me. Her(at least I think it’s a female) fur is silvery grey. No, that's not quite right; it's more chromatic than that, as it subtly shifts color in the soft breeze. The shifting color almost gives her fur the appearance of waving fields of grass or grain. 

I try to stand but collapse onto the ground once again. 

The rabbit just shakes her head at me. “Just sit Nicholas,” she says kindly. 

I nod, seeing how I don't have much of a choice, and just stay sitting on the ground. “What do you wish to talk about?” 

She looks at me, and suddenly I feel like I'm a slab of meat on display for her. “You did me a great service Nicholas. Not many would put themselves in harm's way for one of my daughters.”

I frown and look up at her. “Sadly, Memnoth is not vanquished; he is merely inconvenienced at the moment. His…. essence is tied to the body of Gregory Furgonson. It took a lot of Gregory’s soul for your battle tonight.” 

I nod, fearing as such. “I’ll have to find it then.”

She smiles at me and nods. “Karma said you wouldn’t leave things unfinished.” She pauses, tilting her head slightly at me. “Still, I think you earned a reward, even though…. What was it your grandfather said about work well done?”

“The honest reward for work well done is more work.” 

She nods and turns to walk into the field. “Still…” She pauses and looks over her shoulder at me. “Judith likes red tulips.” 

My eyes flutter open for a moment and I take a deep breath. I can hear sudden snaps, pops, and shouts of surprise. There’s even a funny sounding death warble from some piece of equipment. I can feel two small paws holding my left paw tightly. I curl my paw around them gently. 

I open my eyes and see a startled looking moose EMT hunched over me looking at his equipment. 

“Nick!” Judy shouts; I hear just a bit of relief in her voice. The air is acrid with the smell of burnt out electronics. 

I slowly sit up and lean my back against the car I collapsed behind.

“Sir,” starts the moose EMT, “I really must insist that you lay back down.”

My side hurts but not nearly as bad as it could have. I flex my right leg a bit and it seems to function normally. My head is pounding though; that last gout of fire must have really taken a toll on me. 

“CAN SOMEONE TELL ME JUST WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?” booms a loud gruff voice. Judy’s boss stomps into view; the sound his hoof falls are a pale imitation of those of the demon I had just fought. 

I look at Judy, then up at the Cape buffalo. “Custody battle,” I quip. 

I think if the buffalo's head came around any faster he could have snapped his own neck. He glares at me, but against the memory of doing battle with a demon his ire is nothing, so a slow smug smile starts to stretch across my muzzle.

I look around and grab my staff and start to stand up. Surprisingly, my leg is able to bear my weight, but I have to to use my staff for support on that side. 

“My officers are telling me stories about a two story bull that you brought down with fire from your paw and you’re telling me it was a custody battle?” Chief Bogo started to rage at me. “Custody of what? Your sanity?” 

“Of who would be the better question.”

“Cotton…” Judy said, her voice trailing off.

“Where is she?” I ask, trying to neither confirm nor deny her statement. 

“I left her with Wolford,” she answers. “I didn’t want to bring her here, but couldn’t leave you to face that thing by yourself.”

“Officer Hopps, you’re telling me this is about your cal… kit?” Chief Bogo asks.

Judy looks to me and I nod. “It appears so, Chief.”

“It's not over….” I start, and pause as I feel a bit dizzy. “It'll be back. It's tied itself to Gregory Furgonson’s soul, and by extension his mortal coil.”

“Is Furgonson still alive?” Chief Bogo asks. 

I take a deep breath before answering and glance toward Judy. “Doubtful; at this point I think it's just trying to fulfill the bargain that brought it here so it can be free.”

Judy nods sadly and looks away from me. I can tell by the hard set of her features that she is torn on how she feels about that knowledge. 

“Say I believe you fox,” Bogo says slowly, his brown eyes boring into me. “How do we stop this?”

“I can locate Furgonson but I’m going to need a few things,” I start to explain. “A metal bowl, wine cork, a sewing needle, and….” 

“We don't have any of his fur Nick….” Judy interrupts me. Bogo snorts at us. 

“We don’t need it; we have something even better,” I tell her, and then take a deep breath. “But I need you to trust me.”

Her eyes search my face and then she nods. “Ok, what do you need?” she asks. 

“We are each tied to our parents, first to our mothers with whom bear us then to our fathers who sire us,” I explain. 

“So a clipping of her fur will help us find him?”

I shake my head at her question. “A drop of her blood would be enough to power the spell.” 

Judy’s eyes harden to dark amethyst and I swallow nervously. I can see her fists balling at her sides and she’s struggling to keep from slugging me.

“I would never hurt Cotton,” I explain, with maybe just a bit of panic in my face. “She’s a kit; she doesn't deserve this thing coming after her.”

“Nick…” Judy says gently. I don't know if it’s my panic or if she honestly weighed my past actions against me, but the relief I felt when she said, “I know you won’t hurt her,” cannot be overstated, as I would like to think Cotton is my friend and Judy is…something. What I'm not sure, but she is something. 

“You thought of her well being before your own…..” She looks away; it’s hard for me to read her face from that angle. “Chief, we need a car.” 

Bogo snorted, his eyes never leaving me. “We’ll take my command car.” He glances at Judy. “I’ll drive,” he says gruffly. 

Judy nods. “I’ll get Cotton,” she says as she walks away from us.

“Come,” Bogo says as he starts to walk away, drawing my attention away from Judy. He measures his pace to my much slower one as I walk with him toward his command car. “Are my officers telling the truth or do I need to do a round of psych evals?” 

I glance up at him and shrug. I can tell he's a hard pragmatic soul, questioning everything. Honestly, he would probably make a decent wizard if he wasn’t so bull headed. “I guess that depends on how much you trust the word of your officers.”

Bogo snorts and looks around slowly at this officers helping those who need it. “Some of them are just kids, rookies.” He shrugs his massive shoulders. “Others I’ve known most of my career.” His hard eyes turn back down toward me. “The responding officers all tell the same tale, and Hopps….”

I chuff in annoyance. “Now you trust her?” I ask. 

The Chief stops to glare down at me and I glare up at his eyebrows, a trick my grandfather taught me to keep me from locking gazes with mammals. “It had nothing to do with trusting her.”

“Could have fooled me,” I tell him. “Mrs. Otterton didn’t seem to think you thought much of Officer Hopps. Neither do some of your own officers.” 

Much to my surprise the Cape buffalo looks away first and snorts. “It has nothing to do with trust. She's very capable….” His right ear flicks in annoyance. “For a rabbit.”

“For a rabbit,” I echo maybe just a tad bit mockingly.

“Look around you, fox,” Bogo says. “I deploy my officers in two mammal teams; that way they always have someone to watch their backs,” he explains to me. “The smallest mammal on my team is still over ten times her size.”

I look around, seeing that he is correct.

“So who do I saddle with her?” he asks me. “Who risks not going home to their families because she's too small to watch a wolf or tigers back?” Bogo snorts at me dismissively, and perhaps I earned it. “Besides, you’re not the one that has to tell the family that their loved one isn't coming home.” 

I nod and sigh. “Should have known there was more than what lies at the surface.”

Bogo looks down at me and snorts. “Maybe you’re not such a fool after all.”

“Mr. Nick! Mr. Nick!” Cotton shouts as she runs up to me and wraps me in a big hug. “Mama says that I'm gonna help you do magic.”

“That you are, Cottonball,” I say as I ruffle the fur between her ears and then kneel down to look her in the eyes. “You have to be brave ok?”

She nods excitedly. “Like Karma?” 

I lean forward ever so slightly. “Even braver.” I bend down and look into her eyes. “Brave like your mother.” I smile warmly into Cotton's big brown eyes. 

“Where to first?” Judy asks. 

“There’s a 24 hour supermarket down the street that should have everything we need.” I grin at their looks of incredulity. “What?” I ask. “You think there’s a Spells R Us or something?”

I am pleasantly surprised to find faux leather rear seats instead of the hard plastic things typically put in the back of patrol cars. While the distance to the supermarket was short, I must have been more drained than I had originally thought as I passed out leaning against the rear passenger door. 

I’m not sure if I dream or not, but when I’m awakened by a gentle shake I feel a little more refreshed. My head pounds from the over use of magic though, in much the same way as a rough hangover feels. 

“We got what you need,” I hear Judy tell me as a bag is thrust into my paws. I look inside and see a cheap bottle of wine with a cork in the mouth of the bottle, a metal bowl, a pack of sewing needles, and a bottle of water, as well as a small pack of bandaids and alcohol wipes. 

“We gonna do magic now Mr. Nick?” Cotton asks me, her brown eyes bright in the early morning gloom. I look outside the passenger window of the police car and see a well maintained strip of grass with a tree. 

I nod. “Yes Cotton we are going to do some magic,” I answer her as I open the door. I lean on my staff as we walk over to the green space. Judy, followed by Bogo, follows us. 

I groan as I sit down in the grass and sit my staff at my side. Cotton sits beside me, I can almost feel her excitement. I pull out the metal bowl and sit it in front of me. “We are going to do a tracking spell so we can find the monster that attacked us and finish it off.” I explain as I carefully pry the cork out of the bottle of wine. 

“But Mama said you made it go away,” Cotton said.

I glace up at Judy, who shrugs at me. “I did, but I want to make sure it never comes back,” I tell her as I push the needle through the cork.

“It went to its hideout?” Cotton asks me as she watches my preparations.

“It did,” I tell her as I pour a bit of the water into the bowl. I turn to her fully. “Cotton, a not very nice mammal sent that monster after you and your mother.” I glance up at Judy. “It’s my job to make the monster go away and in order to do that I have to find it.”

“Who would do that? Mama and I are nice to everyone,” Cotton asks me.

“I don't know, but the police will find that mammal and put them in jail. Will you help me find the monster so I can make it go away?” 

Cotton nods. “What do I need to do?” she asks. 

I tear open the package of alcohol wipes and thoroughly clean the claw of my right thumb. “I’m going to prick your forefinger and we’re going to run it around the bowl counter clock wise three times while you say the magic words.” I bend my head lower to her. “Finders keepers, losers weepers.” So sue me; it’s the best I can come up with in the moment. 

“Will it hurt?” she asks, looking at my claw. 

I shake my head. “No, because you’re going to be brave like your mother and Karma, and it will only be a little prick.” I grin at her. “Besides, I bet a shot at the doctor hurts worse.” 

I smile as she takes a deep breath and puffs out her chest bravely and nods. “Kay.” 

I take a second wipe and clean the tip of her forefinger. “What are the magic words?” I ask her. 

“Finders keepers, losers weepers.” 

“Very good; you ready?” I ask her kindly. She looks to me, then her mom, and back again, and nods.

“Chief, I recommend turning off your cell phone and radio,” Judy says to him quietly. 

“Ready, Mr. Nick.” I smile at the brave little bunny. I prick her finger ever so slightly and squeeze just a bit. 

“Ow,” she says softly as I guide her finger to the rim of the bowl at what would be the 12 o'clock position away from me. 

“Ok Cotton, say the magic words slowly,” I tell her, and she starts to slowly chant what I told her were the magic words. I start to slowly say some quasi Latin as I guide her finger around the bowl while pouring just a bit of my meager energy reserves into the spell. 

Together we complete the first pass and the needle spins in the water and points to her. She takes a deep breath of surprise and keeps saying the phrase. On the second pass the needle spins in the water again and points to Judy. On the third and final pass the needle spins and points off to the  northwest , and Chief Bogo’s cellphone and radio emit a loud pop and the magic blue smoke that allows both to work escape s both of them. 

“Ga!” Bogo shouts as he tosses his radio off his belt and pulls his smoldering phone from his pocket. 

I place a paw on the side of the bowl to keep a flow of magic going into it. As Judy looks at Cotton's finger and places a small bandaid on it. “Look Mama, I helped Mr. Nick do magic!” she shouts excitedly.

Bogo looks down at the bowl, then in the direction the needle was pointing. “I take it we need to go that way.” 

I nod. “Yes, but first we need to take Cotton someplace safe.” 

“We can take her to Olivia's,” Judy says. 

Bogo snorts, looking from his radio and phone then back to me. “A little forewarning next time would be appreciated” said he says gruffly.

I grin smugly up at the Cape buffalo. “She did warn you.” 

Bogo snorts as Judy says, “Come on, let's get Cotton to safety and then deal with this.” 

I nod and attempt to stand with the bowl in my paw and sigh as I don't make it very far. 

“A little help would be appreciated,” I say just before Bogo reaches down and sets me on my paws. I wobble a bit and Judy rushes to steady me. 

“I got your stick Mr Nick!” Cotton shouts as she picks up my staff.

“Staff,” I correct her as we walk back toward the car. I can hear the end of the staff scrape across the concrete as she carries it. 

“And just what, pray tell, will your…” Bogo pauses as he mulls over a word, “magic do to my car?”

I grin as I sit down in the rear seat. “Hope you pay your maintenance mammals well,” I answer him as Judy shuts the door. I concentrate on the needle and it doesn't move, which is good; it means the body isn't being moved. 

I look over at Judy as she sits my staff at my feet and Cotton worms her way in and sits down beside me just before Judy stretches the seatbelt across both of us. 

“Was I good helper Mr. Nick?” Cotton asks me. 

“The best,” I answer her as I keep concentrating on the spell. 

“Olivia lives at the Grand Pawgolion Tower,” Judy tells Bogo. “Once we get there I'll run Cotton inside and lobby security can call Olivia to get her.

Bogo snorted and started the car; immediately the power windows on the passenger side went half way down and then stopped in a poof of blue smoke. I could see Bogo’s jaw harden in the rearview mirror and tried to keep my grin to the minimum of smug.

The ride over to the tower is quick. I keep my concentration on the spell; I watch as the needle moves in relation to our movement but doesn't take any radical adjustments.

Judy and Cotton get out of the car almost as soon as it stops. I can feel Bogo’s eyes as he studies me in the rear view mirror. 

“How certain are you that this will lead us to Furgonson?” he asks me. 

I glance up at him. “Unless Officer Hopps is wrong about who the father of her kit is?” I ask hypothetically. “100%.”

“Mmmmm, is that so,” he states flatly; I try not to read too much into that statement. Maybe his wife is cheating on him while he’s putting in long hours at work. Wouldn’t be the first spouse to use my services to find such information out. 

Judy opens the car door and hops in beside me. “Ok, she’s taken care of; where to Nick?”

“Still northwest; he hasn’t been moved.” The needle hasn’t moved at all so I’m fairly confident that the corpse isn’t animated. The trip is short and with Judy calling out course corrections as we go relatively uneventful from my perspective. 

I look out the window and find that we are on the outskirts of Sahara Square in an industrial complex that the sand dunes have nearly devoured. The rising sun bathes the dunes in a warm glow that does little to diffuse the sense of foreboding about the place. There is a foulness in the air that the light morning breeze does little to dissipate.

I stop channeling power into the spell and fish the cork and needle out of the bowl before I toss the water out of the car window. I then take one of the alcohol wipes and clean the rim of the bowl. Much can be done with blood and I really do not want to expose Cotton to any more danger if I can keep from it. 

I sit the bowl onto the seat and unbuckle the seatbelt. I can hear the other car doors opening as I pop mine open and slide out onto the sand. The thirsty sand has already absorbed the moisture from the water I had thrown on it. I reach back into the car and grab my staff; Judy and Bogo come around to my side of the car as I eye the facade of the building wearily. 

“Do you know if there are any more mammals in there?” Bogo asks. 

I shake my head. “No, but his body is in there.” I look at the alcohol wipe still in my paw and with a small touch of my will it catches on fire and the ashes drift into the wind. 

“So this could be a trap?” Bogo asks. 

I nod. “It could be; doesn’t change anything though.” 

“I could use my cell phone and call for backup,” Judy says.

Bogo nods. “A wise course of action.”

I point across the street. “That should be far enough away to safely make the call.”

Judy nods and jogs off to make the call as I stand beside Bogo looking at the building. The giant roll up door gives the building the look of a massive maw waiting to devour us whole. The foul magic that clings to the place only adds to the foreboding I feel. I suddenly wonder if this is how Gandalf felt before the gates of Moria.

“Backup is on the way; they’re going to separate a few units off from the disaster area to come help us here,” Judy informs us as she comes back across the street, her cell phone already stored in her pocket.

I nod and start walking toward the building. “With the coming of dawn it should be at its weakest,” I tell them as my paws sink slightly in the sand, my lips curling back in an involuntary snarl as I step closer and closer. 

“Wait!” Judy calls as I stop before the massive door. I can feel the seething hate behind it mixed with the wrongness of foul magic and even the slightest taint of blood. 

I can feel Bogo and Judy’s eyes on me as I step before the roll up door. I don’t know if my companions can feel the wrongness beyond the door, but it must end. My eyes narrow as I draw upon the magic around us; I focus seemingly through the door as I raise my staff in my right paw. 

The runes on my staff light up just before I thrust the head of my staff toward the door shouting, “Forzare!” The kinetic blast hits the door, denting it; it sounds like a ginormous gong. I shake my head as my vision blurs slightly and I rear back with my staff again, pouring my hate for the demon into the spell. I thrust my staff forward again with a shout of, “ Forzare!” This time I’m rewarded with the sound of screaming stressed metal;the door folds in along the edges as a large round rent is torn through it.

“ Knock, knock,” I say as I step into the warehouse. I wrinkle my nose at the foulness of the air in the warehouse. It reeks of putrid flesh and suffering; the air is foul with it,  and  the shadows  writhe and crawl in  my peripheral vision . Long tables are strewn about the place, along with  what looks like small plastic bags and other paraphernalia.  _ What did Serendipity call him again?  _ I ask myself.  _ Ah yes _ _ ... Memnoth. _

I lift my staff and slam the butt of it against the floor with an expulsion of energy that makes a THOM sound reverberate throughout the warehouse. “Memnoth!” I shout. “Show yourself foul demon so I may remove you from the realm of mammals!” 

I hear scurrying sounds in the darkness, followed by tittering laughter. “You have brought one of the two I seek. Where is the second?” a voice in the darkness asks me. 

I glance over my shoulder to see that Bogo and Judy have followed me into the warehouse. 

“Greg!” Judy shouts. “Come out.”

“There issss no Greg here,” the demon hisses from the shadows. “Betrayer.”

I lift an eyebrow and look over my shoulder at Judy once again. Being called a betrayer doesn't seem to phase her. I take another step into the warehouse now; I'm at the edge of the pool of light cast by the hole in the door. 

“There will be no deals demon,” I say into the darkness. It writhes, and I can hear the sound of something scurrying around on all fours. 

“Ohhh, my pretty,” the demon hisses. “I has such delicious memories of your fur.” 

I hear a sudden rapid fury of strikes behind me and I turn just in time to see Judy throw something off her and look at her paw in shock. In her paw she holds what looks like the most gruesome glove I have ever seen, as it is at least half of what should have covered a rabbit’s arm. 

“H..he, he’s dead?” she asks, looking at the fur in her paw in disbelief. “GAH!” Judy yells, and throws the fur away from her in disgust. We glance around rapidly as we hear the demon scramble away from where it was thrown.

“I wonderssss what secrets youss hold,” the demon hisses. I look up and scan the rafters above us. “Loverssss? Moniessss?” the darkness asks. 

Bogo roars in pain and I turn sharply to see the rapidly decomposing body of Gregory Furgonson clawing at one of his massive forearms as the Cape buffalo holds it above the ground. 

“Slam it into the floor and hold onto it!” I yell as I scramble over to him; he does as I order and slams the thing into the floor.

“NOOOOSSSS!” it yells as I approach.”NOOSSSSSS! I WAS PROMISEDES, I WAS PROMISEDES!”

“What were you promised?” I ask as I approach. 

“Answer!” Bogo bellows at it and slams it into the floor again.

The demon in a rabbits body starts to laugh and cough. 

I change my staff over to my left paw as I kneel down, my right paw becoming engulfed in flame. I hold my right paw inches from its face. “Answer the question.”

“Banish me wizard, but the dark lady will get you.” The skull grins up at me. “Yes, yes she will.”

“Memnoth, I banish ye from the realms of mammals,” I say as I clamp my paw over its face; the fire spreads quickly and Bogo lets it go suddenly. The fire that spreads over the corpse has a sickly green glow before it screams one last time and turns to a normal orange hue. 

I let go and stand slowly, leaning heavily on my staff. My head throbs as if it’s being used as the bass drum for every metal band in the entire world. My vision swims and my hearing gets murky just before it goes black and I collapse beside the burning corpse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested in the police report from the fight in the last chapter please check out Side Hustles. Its where I will be posting short stories that are either told from a differnt POV or doesn't quiet fit in one of the Wilde Files case stories.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: 

I awake in a bed that is not my own, but, on the plus side, is also not in a jail cell or a hospital room. Well, unless jail cells or hospital rooms have started to provide silk sheets since the last time I’ve been in one. I slowly look around the room and see the windows covered in black out curtains open just enough to cast the room in a comfortable gloom. My head is still pounding as if I’d gone on an all night bar hopping binge. 

_ If I am dreaming, then I need new dreams,  _ I  think as I swing my legs over the edge of the bed. The bed itself is a little on the small side for my size but still surprisingly comfortable. I rub my paws over my face. “Old fox told me there would be days like this,” I mutter to myself. 

“_Magic is like a muscle boy; if you over do it you'll pay for it later,” _ I hear his grizzled voice  say  in my head. “Guess I  over did it,” I mumble. 

I feel a bit dizzy as I stand up, but at least I can stand unassisted so that's a plus. I walk slowly over to the door and test the door knob. Much to my surprise it turns easily in my paw and the door opens. The hallway is better lit than the bedroom I’d been put in. 

The hallway has dark hardwood floors with a plush red carpet running the length of it and stark white walls. I hear the distant sound of what I can only assume is a kit’s TV show. I turn and walk toward the sound, placing my right paw onto the wall as I go to steady myself. 

“Mr Nick!” came the high pitched squeal as I entered the cavernous living space. My eyes go wide as she patters across the floor and leaps at me. I catch her and somehow manage not to fall over in the process as she wraps her arms around my neck.

“Mama said you needed to sleep and there was this white lady fox with her and a buffalo and you've slept for a long time Mr. Nick!” Cotton says to me, her face buried in the fur of my neck. “I was worried about you, Mr. Nick.”

“I’m sorry I worried you Cottonball; how long have I been asleep?” I ask.

“Two days,” Judy answers from across the room. “You started to worry us, but the vixen that showed up just said you vastly over did it.”

I nod and walk over to sit down on the couch. Judy has already turned off the TV. I'm not even certain I could light the candles in my apartment right now so the TV is probably safe from me for the moment. 

“She said that it wasn’t safe to take you to the hospital and that you just needed sleep.” Judy frowns. “For some reason I felt like I should trust her.” She smiles at us. “Anyway, with your apartment door still buried in rubble this was the only place I could think of to bring you.” 

“Your godmother’s?” I ask. As if on cue Fifi waltzes into the room. “Oh look, it lives,” she says upon seeing me. “I had thought we would need to call the body collector to remove him from the spare room.”

I study Fifi for the first time. When I originally met her I’d assumed that she was just a speciest skunk, but now I'm not so sure. There’s something off about her.

“That's not nice!” Cotton exclaims. 

“Fifi…” Judy says shooting the skunk a glare. 

“My apologies Mr. Wilde.” She turns and walks out of the room. I watch her; there’s something about her eyes and the way she moves. I frown as I try to remember something that my grandfather told me, something important. 

“How long has she worked for your godmother?” I ask. 

Judy looks thoughtful. “A month or so I guess,” she answers.

My stomach chooses that moment to growl and it's suddenly hard to concentrate as it’s been two days and a lot of spell slinging since I’ve last eaten anything. 

Cotton giggles from beside me. “Mr. Nick is hungry Mama!” 

Judy’s eyes got wide. “Sweet cheese and crackers! I'm sorry Nick; here, I'll go get you something to eat,” she says quickly as she gets up and rushes toward what I could only assume is the kitchen.

I lean my head back against the back of the couch and close my eyes as I wait.

“Are you still tired?” Cotton asks.

I nod slightly. “Yes; I used magic a little too much.” 

“Like when Mama runs too much?” Cotton asks. 

“Exactly,” I answer and feel her snuggle into my side even more. 

“You’re my hero, Mr Nick,” she says softly and then adds, “You and Mama; you can have two heroes right?”

“You can have as many as you can find Cottonball,” I answer. There is something refreshing about having the young rabbit around. As odd as it may sound it feels as if some of the weight is lifted off of my shoulders and my aches and pains are not so great. 

“Can we have story time tonight?” she asks. 

“Not tonight Cotton; my head hurts pretty badly.”

“Aww… okay,” Cotton says. I can hear the minor disappointment in her voice. 

“I should be able to tomorrow,” I tell her; my magic induced hangover should be gone by then. I’ll still be sore from the fight with the demon, but that shouldn’t keep me from being able to tell a story to the young rabbit. 

“Here ya go Nick,” Judy says as she comes back into the room carrying a plate. “Hard boiled eggs, toast, and some blueberries from my family’s farm.”

“Thank you,” I say to her as I take the plate of food and dig in. Cotton giggles at me as she steals one of my blueberries and munches on it. As I eat my meal, my head starts to clear and I’m able to think just a bit more. I remember something about scent from the first time I met Fifi. 

I pop one of the blueberries into my mouth as I think about this. It’s juicy and sweet yet tart and oh so very delicious. Judy must have seen the smile on my face. “My family grows the best produce in the tri-counties,” she says with a warm smile.”

I nod my agreement. “Why did you become a cop?” I ask her.

She went quiet for a moment. “Because I want to make the world a better place,” she finally says. “Not just for her,” she says, looking at Cotton, “but for everyone; I’ve come to find out that the world is bigger than I thought, though.”

“Noble goal,” I say as I pop another blueberry into my mouth and shrug. “But the world you’re aware of now is no different than the world of yesterday.” 

Judy nods and looks over at me, taking a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “I think I’ve come to realize that I’ll need some help.”

I pop another blueberry into my mouth as I look over at her. I hear a question in that statement, one that I'm not sure if she’s really asking me or not.

“Chief Bogo wants to talk to you tomorrow,” Judy continues. “I filed a report about the last few days.” 

I tense slightly. “What did you tell him?” I ask.

“Everything; finding the…. site,” her eyes shoot to Cotton at my side, “running from my house, how you took us in, all of it.” I nod at her explanation and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be going to jail now; this knowledge more than likely shows as my body tenses and my ears splay to the side.

“Relax,” she says. “I'm reasonably sure he’s not going to arrest you.”

I chuff at that and reach down to grab another blueberry, only to find that they’re all gone. I eye Cotton, who smiles up at me mischievously. 

“Cotton!” Judy exclaims, and I can’t help but chuckle in amusement. 

I raise my paw and grin at Judy. “It’s fine.”

I look down at my empty plate; my headache has dissipated quite a bit since I’ve eaten and I generally feel better, more like myself. I stand, finding myself a bit stronger. “The kitchen is around the corner?” I ask 

Judy nods and moves to stand up. “I’ll take that for you…” she starts.

“I'm fine Fluff. I need to move a bit anyway.” I shoot her a wink and grin. “Besides, it’s just around the corner so if I hurt myself I'm sure you'll hear me.”

She nods and looks away from my gaze as I start to walk toward the kitchen. “Then I’ll get Cotton ready for bed,” she says as she stands up.

“Aww, but Mama…” Cotton starts.

“Don’t but Mama me young lady. I let you stay up past your bedtime because Mr. Nick got up, but now it's time for good little bunnies to go to bed.” 

“Kay…” Cotton says. “Good night Mr. Nick!” 

“Good night Cotton,” I say to her kindly smiling at her as I round the corner to the kitchen.

The kitchen, like the rest of the apartment, is lavish, The appliances are well polished stainless steel, the counter tops are all granite, and the cabinetry is a deep rich red wood of some kind. Just as I place my plate in the equally polished sink and turn to head back to the living room, my ears perk up.

I hear a song being sung; it’s hauntingly sad and speaks of all the things a long-lived being has lost. Lovers, children, familiar places, all gone. I stand quietly in the kitchen and turn toward the sound. There’s a set of rooms down a short hallway that could be best described as a mother-in-law suite, or maybe a servants quarters. 

I take a step closer toward the song when a sudden realization strikes me: the song isn't being sung in the common tongue of mammals. I pause as many things click into place for me, then turn and pad quietly back into the living room.

My thoughts are jumbled as I sit back down onto the couch and run the fingers of a paw through the fur under my chin. I'm so lost in thought that I barely notice when Judy sits down beside me a few minutes later. 

“She likes you,” Judy says pulling me out of my thoughts.

“So you’ve said.” I look down at her.

“She hasn’t liked most of the males that I’ve brought around.” The frank confession surprises me to say the least.

I grin down at her. “Maybe she's a good judge of character.” I wink at her. “I mean, I am awesome after all.” 

The barely suppressed chuckle only makes my grin grow wider. The look she shoots me is a mixture of amusement and annoyance, but there’s a slight up turn of the corners of her muzzle so I'll take it. “You asked me to dinner a few days ago; were you serious?” she asks. 

“I honestly thought you had a hot date with the way you tore out of here,” I grin at her minor snort. “I guess in a way you did.”

“I had arranged for a late pick up of Cotton and had even almost exceeded that time. I have to pay out of pocket if I’m late and the city picks up the rest as a benefit of being a city employee.” She gives me a side eyed look. “But you didn’t answer the question; were you serious?”

I sigh. “Nothing gets past you does it Carrots?” I ask playfully. “Yes, I was serious. I’ve been told I could use more friends. So yes, I would like to take you to dinner.” I grin at her. “Even Cottonball is invited.”

“Really?” she asks. 

“Sure, who am I to neglect inviting my biggest fan?” I ask. 

The smile that cracks Judy face truly lights it up. “True,” she agrees and shakes her head. “How about Friday?” she asks. 

I stare at her for a moment, not expecting that; before she can take it back, I smile at her and say, “Friday sounds great.” 

“Great!” Judy exclaims happily. “Well, umm, I need to go to bed, and don’t forget about your morning appointment with Chief Bogo.” 

“I'm going to sit here for a bit longer before I go to bed,” I tell her. 

“Ok, have a nice night Nick,” she says before walking away.

I watch her go and smile. I don’t know why but the thought of taking those rabbits to dinner leaves me with a warm feeling.  _ What was it that Serendipity told me?  _ I ask myself.  _ Right, red tulips. _

My eyes drift back toward the kitchen and hold there for a moment. I sigh, then stand and walk back into the kitchen. The kitchen is much the same way I left it. I look toward the room where the singing came from before and see that the light is still on from under the door. 

I knock softly, and I hope politely, on the door and wait. I don't have long to wait until the door is opened and Fifi stands before me. “Mui cow na- bar a i mui duck na- flae.” _Peace and long life to you alfar, I mean you no ill intent, _or at least that’s what I hope I’ve said and not something far more sinister like, _I’m here to kill you prepare to die. _

Her stance as well as her features soften just a bit. “Svartalfar,” she corrects me. “Please let us converse in common before you butcher any more of my language.” 

“Thank you,” I say. “Just how badly did I butcher it?” 

“You said ‘My cow is home alfar and my duck is ill.’” She smiles toothily. “But you tried.”

“And that was enough to change your attitude toward me?” I ask.

She shrugs. “I’m on sojourn for 75 years. I'm to learn of this plane then return home. I was warned against making contact with members of the White Council of Mages.” She pauses and stares at me hard. “But from your stumbling attempts at my native language I take it you wish to talk?” 

I nod. “I do.” 

“Then talk.”

“Mrs. Otterton hired me because she feels as if she’s being hunted” I explain. “It started about the time you started to work for her.” 

“I see.” She looks away embarrassed. “I mean Olivia no ill will; she took me into her household and offered me work.” 

I nod. “I figured as much.” 

“I followed them to a party, saw others watching them,” 

“Others?” 

“Gray ones, they do not belong here either.” She looks up at me and tilts her head to the side.

“Are they still around?”

“No, they left 5 maybe 6 days ago. I kept watch.”

I frown. “Gray ones?”

“They are they who walk behind.” 

“They who walk behind…..” I say quietly, as if I should know that phrase. 

She nods. “If there is anything else…?”

I nod. “I would like to learn your language.”What can I say? My grandfather told me that knowledge is power, and I’d like to make a good impression on any others of her kind that I may meet in the future. 

She nods. “I will trade for some knowledge at a later date.” 

“Only social or economic information, nothing on magic,” I counter.

“That is acceptable.”

I nod and hold out my paw. “Deal then?” 

She shakes it. “Deal.” 

It’s not long after  that  I make my way back to my room. The apartment is quiet and I curl up on the small bed to drift off to sleep. My mind keeps running over the phrase,  “ they who walk behind; _ ”  _ it reminds me of something but of what I  can’t quite nail down. I pass out with no answers to my questions. My dreams, while pleasant, are nebulous at best and slip from me when I'm awoken some time later to a light rap on my door and the smell of freshly cooked bacon.

“Nick?” Judy asks as she cracks open the door. The delicious smell of breakfast wafts into the room through the open door.

“Mmmmm?” I groan from the bed.

“It's time to get up; we can take Cotton to daycare then be at Precinct One for your meeting with Chief Bogo just after he passes out assignments in the bullpen,” she tells me. 

I sigh as I realize that there will be no more sleep for me that morning. “Is there time for a shower and some coffee?”

“Shower is down the hall and Fifi has made a fresh pot this morning; hurry or Cotton will eat all of your breakfast as well.”

I uncurl myself from the center of the small bed and stretch, my back popping a few times. “Ok, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

After a hot shower, (Karma I could really get used to a hot shower.) I follow my nose to food. 

“Good morning Mr. Wilde,” Mrs. Otterton greets me as I step into the dinning area.

“Good morning Mrs. Otterton. I must thank you for taking me in.”

“Think nothing of it Mr. Wilde.” She studies me as I sit down and Cotton scoots closer to me. “Judy and Cotton had quite a story to tell about you Mr. Wilde. Have you had any chance to do anything about my other problem?” 

“I believe that has been sorted out,” I answer and smile at the plate that is put in front of me. Bacon, eggs, toast, and a small bowl of blueberries that I deliberately move away from Cotton.

“I thought it might have since I haven’t felt that presence in a few days.”

I nod as I start to enjoy my breakfast. I can feel the bunny beside me eyeing me and then my blueberries. “I believe we’re square on expenses and I can send you over an itemized expense list by the end of the day.”

“Don't worry about it Mr. Wilde; any overages I shall consider a tip for a job well done.” She took a sip of the liquid in the mug in front of her. “About helping Cotton and Judy though…” 

I waved a paw. “That was me helping friends, Mrs. Otterton. I neither need nor desire any compensation for it.”

She nods and keeps her eyes on me. “Nonsense; I feel a reward should be given. Deities know the city won't.” She looks thoughtful. “Judith told me of your dinner date on Friday.”

My ears perk up slightly and I shoot a glance over to Judy. She glances away from me, her ears behind her back. “Come on kiddo, let's get ready to go to school while Mr. Nick and Grandma Olivia talk.” 

“Aww Moooom…..” 

“I’ll be going with you guys to your daycare,” I inform the young bunny. 

“Really?’

“Yep, better go get ready.” 

“Yay!” she shouts as she scampers off.

“Now, Emmitt and I have…” she pauses and sighs, “or had standing reservations at Lucerios; do you know where that is?” 

“I do.” To be honest there isn’t a predator in the city, maybe even the world, that doesn’t know where Lucerios is; it’s where lab grown meat made its debut. But it’s way, way outside of my budget.

“Judith has been there with Emmitt and I a few times. She quite enjoys their vegetable casserole.” She pauses and looks hard at me. “I insist that you take them there this Friday Mr. Wilde. I’ll make the proper accommodations for your dinner.”

“That is quite generous of you but…”

“No buts, Mr. Wilde.”

“Thank you for your generosity then.” 

“You’re welcome; now finish your breakfast.” I can’t help but grin slightly at her motherly tone.

I finish my breakfast and move to take my plate to kitchen. “I’ll take that Mr. Wilde,” Fifi says, taking my plate. “The Hopps’ are waiting on you.” 

I nod and walk into the living room. Judy is standing there with my staff in her paw as Cotton dances around the entryway. “She'll have to go without her backpack today, but I was told they should have the alley to your apartment cleared today. 

I nod as Judy hands me my staff. “That’ll be good. Was there any damage done to the building?” 

Judy shook her head. “Somehow that’s the only building on the street that survived without even a broken window.” She eyes me suspiciously. “I wonder why that is?” 

I shrug and give her a sly grin. 

The walk to Cotton’s daycare is rather quite. I notice Judy walks a little closer to me this morning than she has in the past while Cotton holds my paw. 

“Are you feeling better today Mr. Nick?” Cotton asks just before we get to the daycare.

I nod. “I’m feeling a lot better today Cottonball.”

“Can we have story time tonight?” she asks. 

I look to her mother, who nods. “I don't see why not. I’m sure I can come up with another story to tell you.”

“Yay, thank you Mr. Nick!” She jumps up with her arms and paws extended. I catch her with my free paw and hold her tight as she wraps her arms around my neck.

“Have a good day Cottonpuff.” I tell her as I sit her back down on her feet.

“You’ll wait here?” Judy asks and I nod. I watch as Judy and Cotton disappear from view. 

The familiar scent of cherries announces her presence a split second before I hear her voice say, “You did well Nicholas.” 

“Did I?” I ask.

I see Karma nod out of the corner of my eye. “Serendipity approves as well. You gained not just the rabbits as friends but a potential ally in the Svartalfar as well.” She turns and looks at me fully. “You’ll need friends and allies for what is to come.”

I frown and turn to ask a question  but she’s already gone.  _ Always more questions than answers,  _ I think to myself. 

“Ready to go?” Judy asks as she walks back up to me.

“Yeah… sure,” I say absently, still mulling over what Karma did or didn’t tell me.

“You ok?” she asks. 

“Sorry, just mulling some things over.”

“What did Olivia have to say?” She looks up at me and I can see the curiosity in her eyes.

“Oh, just wanted to make sure I would take you and Cotton someplace nice on Friday.” 

She grins. “So are you?” 

I nod. “I said she made sure of it didn’t I?” 

“Fine,” she huffs. “Keep your secrets for now, but I know you’re up to something!”

I give her a sly grin in response. She just shakes her head and we walk the rest of the way to the precinct building in a comfortable silence. 

Setting foot into the Precinct One building this time is different. There is a silence that slowly comes over the normally noisy reception area when we enter the building. I can feel the eyes of dozens of mammals all suddenly directed at me. 

“Oh my goodness!” Clawhauser squeals from the receptionist desk. “He even brought his staff!” I watch as his eyes shift between Judy and I. “You two look really cu…. I mean good together.”

“Hey Clawhauser!” Judy says cheerfully as we walk toward the receptionist desk. My staff taps on the tile floor as we go. “Nice catch; is the Chief done with the morning briefing?” 

“Yeah, he just finished a few minutes ago.” His gaze turns toward me. “He’s expecting you.” 

Judy must have seen my tension, as she grabs my forearm and I look down at her. “Relax Nick, it'll be fine.” She smiles at me. “Come on, I’ll walk you up.”

I follow her up the stairs to the second floor and along the walkway that allows mammals to look down over the reception and office areas. Most officers have gone back to their paperwork or whatever they had been assigned, though one or two still tracked my progress to the chief’s office. 

We stop outside of the massive door and Judy knocks on it. “Enter,” comes the gruff voice from the other side and Judy reaches up and opens the door. 

“I’ve brought Nick, I mean Mr. Wilde to see you as you requested Chief,” Judy says as we enter the office. The office itself is massive, with one window behind the desk and another that would let him see out into the atrium. The wall with the door on it is covered in awards and photographs, and the wall opposite is covered in a massive map of the city. 

Chief Bogo stares at us over the rims of his reading glasses before finally taking them off. “Mr. Wilde, please have a seat. Officer Hopps, please wait outside.” I climb up into the chair opposite of the chief’s desk. I’m sure that if I’d gone to public school, having to climb up into this chair would be how it would have felt to be sent to the principal's office; as it stands I'm not overly intimidated.

Bogo thumbs through a stack of folders on the left side of his desk and pulls one out, flipping it open. “I should charge you with a multitude of offenses, including tampering with a crime scene, destruction of public and private property, obstruction of justice, hindering an officer in discharging their official duties, and possession of an incendiary device inside city limits.”

“Really, this is what you wanted to talk to me about?” I ask. “A list of trumped up charges that won't even be able to stick because then you and the DA would both be forced to try to make the public believe that magic exists?” I chuff as I slide out of the chair. “And just how are you going to do that? Force me to violate my fifth amendment rights?” 

Bogo takes off his glasses and pinches the bridge of his muzzle. “If you are done Mr. Wilde, I said should.” He snorts. “I also have reports that you single pawdedly faced down what can only be described as a two story bull. In addition to those reports, I have a report saying that if you had not intervened one of my officers and her child would more than likely be dead.”

I nod and wait for the other shoe to drop.

He picks up a stack of folders and thumps them down on his desk. “As it stands, I have cases that either cannot be explained or have leads that just disappear into thin air.” I look at the stack of folders; some have reams of paperwork in them, while others have only a few pages.

I shrug. “This city has always been a little on the strange side.”

Bogo nods in agreement. “But the strange is getting worse, and after the warehouse in Sahara Square, I’m not convinced that we are prepared to deal with it.”

I raise my eyebrow at the frank admission.

“The mayor wants me to open an office to investigate the….. strange things that happen around this city.” 

“Just what are you offering?”

“You’re a licensed private detective, correct?” 

“I am.”

Bogo stares at me. “I'm offering you a job as a special consultant to the ZPD; you’ll have an office here and a partner that can hopefully keep you out of legal trouble.”

I study the Cape buffalo for a minute. “At what kind of pay?”

Bogo snorts. “You’ll be paid the same as any of my first year officers with the same benefits.”

I mull that over for a moment, as that’s still probably more than I make working for myself. “Who will my partner be?”

“Officer Hopps; she's the only one that I have in your size class that would be willing to work with you,” Bogo answers.

_ At least _ _ I trust Judy to have my back,  _ I think to myself. “I accept.”

“Hopps!” Chief Bogo bellows.

“Sir?” Judy says as the door opens. 

“Take your partner down to Mammal Resources for in processing.” 

“Come on Nick,” Judy says from the door and I turn to see her huge smile. “Let’s get your in processing done so we can make the world a better place.” 


	10. epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes a double post! If your reading this and haven't read chapter 8 please go back one. I just couldnt make you guys wait 2 weeks for a 500 word epilogue.

# Epilogue

That's it, that's the story of how the ZPD hired me and created the position of Wizard. Well, I guess they don't really call it that but I still prefer Wizard over Special Consultant to the ZPD. I even have a badge and a plastic ID on a lanyard to get me in to crime scenes.

Oddly enough most of my day still seems to be taken up with reading books, but now I'm paid to do it. Right now though Judy has me reading police procedure manuals, though sometimes I sneak in something fun. It’s really dry reading but it’s fun to mess with her when she questions me about something. 

They assigned us an office in the basement down by the boiler. Judy has a desk with a computer on it and, well, I just have a desk. Wouldn’t do them much good to give me a computer now would it? But I do have this pager that I have to take with me everywhere and oddly it seems to just keep on working.

Now don't you sit there thinking I make Carrots do all the work. I give her my paw written reports and she types them into the computer for me, or if it’s the end of the day we drop them off with Clawhauser. 

I did close my office downtown, though you'll still be able to find me in the yellow pages for a while since the ad runs for a year. We’ll see how this pans out. 

How did our date go? Of course you’d be interested in a dinner date between a fox and a pair of rabbits. Honestly I don't know yet. Ask me next time; after all, who else do you think the red tulips are for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp here we are that is the end of the first adventure. 
> 
> First of all I have some people to thank.  
Pandora Wilde Files is all your fault will continue to be your fault. Thank you.  
Lilwashu76 you are honestly worth my weight in gold. Thank you for tireless efforts in making the ramblings of a mad man readable.  
Then my wife... babe thank you for supporting me in my endeavors at delusions of grandeur.  
Lastly you the reader, yeah you. The guys or gals that I have entertained in one shape form fashion or another. Thank you for sticking it out and joining me every two weeks.
> 
> Now lets address the elephant in the room. I know I know your all sitting here going what about the big evil thing? To that I have to ask a bit of patience. The big bad evil thing isn't ready to have it's curtain fully drawn back and exposed...yet. And well lets face it Nick and Judy both have some growing to do before confronting that.
> 
> Now I know this sounds like I'm done. Well I'm not. I'm doing Wilde Files differential than the way I did Savage Days. I have multiple stories planned for Wilde Files each of them being around 40,000 to 50,000 words. How many stories are you going to get? Unsure at the moment but I have ideas for 6 more and Ive already started writing number 3...... So with that being said I hope you guys and gals join me in two weeks for the Prologue and Chapter 1 of Semi Automagical.


End file.
